Over The Line
by find-nowhere
Summary: <html><head></head>A young girl's body turns up in a stairwell and the Special Victims Unit becomes entangled in something they never imagined. Meanwhile, lawyers have feelings. Alex/Casey</html>
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: _**_Not my characters. Blah blah blah._

_**Note:** Rated for language, sex crimes, sexytimes, violence, etc. Not for kids nor the faint of heart. __This takes place sometime after episode 12.21, "Reparations" (AKA the episode where Casey comes back after being suspended). I've taken some liberties with other odd facts here and there and I was also compelled to consider the awful show "Conviction" that Alex was on. There are some references to the show, but nothing too important and not enough to consider this novel-length beast a crossover._

**_Trigger Warning:_**_ Torture in later chapters as well as mentions of rape, pedophilia, and other topics addressed on SVU._

**Prologue**

"Where the hell is Becker?" A typical bureaucratic businessman screamed at his secretary, his fat chin shaking with his booming voice that was already hoarse from yelling at everyone since he came into work, "That shithead has been late everyday this week and better have a damn good excuse today!"

The mousey woman cowered behind the lenses of her huge glasses, "Sir…he didn't answer his phone, sir."

"That's it! When he gets in, send him to my god damn office, so I can fire his stupid ass! He's an expendable little shit and needs to know that!"

"Yes, sir," she backed slowly out of the room, not making eye contact with the man who had gone completely red in the face, a vein bulging from his neck.

At about that time, a scrawny younger man in an unkempt suit plowed through the main door to the office. He panted and one of the other office peons squealed and pointed, noticing the blood on his hands.

"There's…there's a dead girl…on the stairs!" He managed to get out between frantic gasps.

…

"What a weird place to leave a body…" Detective Elliot Stabler observed, looking down at the small heap. The little girl, no more than ten, had been propped up in the corner between the sixth and seventh floors in the back stairwell of this office building. She looked like an oversized doll if you could ignore the blood.

His partner Olivia Benson nodded, feeling a knot in her stomach from the sight. "I wonder if leaving her here was intentional or convenience…"

The Medical Examiner, Melinda Warner, was crouched down by the body, poking around nonchalantly, "There are definitely signs of sexual assault, and my best guess right now is that she died of exsanguination...not more than a few hours ago. There are at least twenty-seven stab wounds, not to mention her eyes…I won't be able to tell what actually did her in until I get her back to autopsy."

The eyes were haunting; they had been gouged out, leaving gaping holes of flesh and eye matter, accompanied by trails of red tears down either cheek.

"She wasn't killed here…" Benson stated, "Not enough blood."

Warner nodded in agreement, standing and taking off her latex gloves, each snapping loudly and echoing in the solemn quiet of the stairwell. "I keep thinking that one day I won't be able to take anymore of this, but that'll be the day that I stop wanting these bastards put away."

The two detectives sighed, and then looked toward the CSI approaching.

The man shook his head, "No sign of blood going up or down the stairs. She must've been carried up here in something. We're checking the dumpsters and the parking deck."

"The security cameras get anything?" Stabler asked.

"No cameras in this stairwell…but…you do need a keycard to get in…" The man's voice perked up a bit at the end with a hint of hope.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

The SVU precinct boiled with anticipation from the disgusting new case that surfaced that morning. The mutilated and brutalized little girl from the stairwell didn't match any descriptions of missing children in Manhattan, and Detectives John Munch and Fin Tutuola were scouring the data from other jurisdictions, while waiting by the phones in case she just hadn't been reported missing yet.

Benson and Stabler were still at the scene, questioning everyone and anyone who may have seen something.

Olivia put her hands on her hips and glared at the security personnel in front of her, exposing the pistol at her side, "What do you mean you can't tell us what keycards have been used to open that door?"

"We don't have the mechanism installed on that door. Hardly anyone uses it." The large man had become sheepish as she stared him down.

"Budget cuts…" Another one of the men said. "We just make sure the door isn't propped open when we do rounds at night."

"Was it propped last night by some chance?" Olivia turned to him.

He shook his head.

Elliot grunted, "So it was probably someone aware of the shitty security situation here…with access to the building."

"Frank Becker used that stairwell," Olivia persisted in harassing the small group.

None of the men had anything useful to say. Frank Becker also turned out to be useless. By the time they interviewed him, his hair was completely frazzled and he had become a jittery mess.

"I've been taking that stairwell for the past week…" He said, "It makes me late for work, and no one can say they saw me on their way in. Everyone takes the elevator."

"You wanted to be late?" Olivia raised an eyebrow at the man, who sat wringing his hands together, staring at his feet.

He nodded, "Yes…I…I've been trying to get fired."

The detectives exchanged confused glances.

"Unemployment," he said, "Pays better than this job."

He had not been fired since finding a body on the stairs was deemed a reasonable excuse for being late. On his way up to the tenth floor, he spotted the girl. At first, he thought she was alive, and tried to help her. Upon seeing her eyes, he panicked and then ran up the remaining flights, all the way to his office where someone else ended up calling the police while he ranted about the experience and tugged at his own hair.

No one else saw or heard anything. But someone who worked in that building was likely the perp, and it very well could have been one of those people who didn't see or hear anything. They'd have to check out every single alibi of everyone with access to that fucking building, which would take more than just two detectives.

The media had not gotten wind of what happened and this pleased Captain Cragen. There was nothing he hated more than the media making everything into a clusterfuck. Reporters got huge boners making the unit seem incompetent. Soon enough though, he feared they would have to get the media involved in order to identify the child, and he mulled over this.

Warner concluded that she had only been dead for about three hours before they arrived on the scene, but she had been tortured for hours before. Death was likely a blessing for the nameless girl. A wound to her femoral artery was what ultimately caused her to bleed out – besides her eyes, the other wounds were superficial, and Warner concluded it may have been an accident and that the girl died too early as a result. A dead girl was of no interest to the perp and he subsequently disposed of the body.

There was a chance, Cragen thought, that the girl hadn't been reported missing yet because her parents didn't know anything was amiss, or of course, the perp could be a relative. His eye twitched as he thought of all of the scenarios, all equally stomach-turning and fucking awful.

"What about DNA?" Cragen asked Warner.

"No DNA. He used a condom. Nothing under her nails either since she was hog-tied it looks like."

"Thanks, Warner…"

She laid the results down on his desk, nodded, and exited, "If I come across anything else, I'll let you know."

On her way out, Warner passed the precinct's ADA, Casey Novak. They acknowledged one another briefly then moved along without speaking or any pleasantries. Casey noted the focused detectives around headquarters and knew something terrible had happened. She poked into Cragen's office and saw the light reflecting from the Captain's heavily perspiring and bald head, confirming her suspicions.

"Novak," he looked up.

"I'm going to need to borrow Olivia the day after tomorrow to testify for that rapist stalker case, since she's who got the confession out of him. It should be open and shut, even though he retracted his confession."

He nodded, "She's in the field right now."

"If she'll be back soon, I can wait. I have the preliminary hearing for Borden, the child molester, this afternoon."

He nodded again, half-heartedly, "We've got a nine-year-old Jane Doe in autopsy right now. Raped, stabbed…" He opened Warner's file and glanced at it, "Stabbed thirty-three times and with her eyes gouged out."

"Are you serious?" That was a stupid question.

"No, this is my joking face, Novak."

She cleared her throat. She hadn't been the same since she returned from being censured. She was not on top of her game, and she felt like everyone was just waiting for her to fuck up.

"I'll be out here," she said and retreated quickly. She had never been the most tactful, but shit. She didn't look forward to the new case Cragen mentioned either. She had turned into sort of a pussy when it came to the nastier sex crimes. Stalking, those cases were easy. Run of the mill rape, almost tolerable. Kidnapping, nearly tolerable. Child-molestation, not so much. Any sort of bloody torture shit or murder, fucking revolting. Anything involving serial anything, not Casey's cup of tea. The higher the stakes for the perp, the higher the stakes for her. She'd always been disgusted by these perverts, but now she always felt a little pang of nervousness when trying these cases – how inconvenient.

She went and stood aimlessly by Oliva's desk and looked at the mess of papers. She resisted her temptation to organize the detective's paperwork. Nothing had been the same since she'd been back. Everyone seemed to think less of her. She wouldn't bend the rules, and wouldn't do anything that could even remotely be construed as bending the rules. This didn't go over so well with this group of detectives so inclined to bend the rules. The DA was watching her ass and she couldn't risk it. Everyone in the DA's office was watching her ass. She was the black sheep in that fucking place. The precinct was only slightly more welcoming than her own office, so she didn't so much mind wasting time waiting for Olivia.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Jordan Borden was a smug bastard all through his three-day trial. He was accused of taking some inappropriate liberties with his eleven-year-old daughter's friends - boys and girls because he wasn't picky. It seemed like your run of the mill pedophile case, but the guy turned out to be a manipulative nutjob, and this is why the trial lasted three whole days. Stabler speculated he was a dick because his first name rhymed with his last name - that would make anyone psychotic. He had joint custody of his daughter with his ex-wife, but that was sure to go out the window soon enough. He had schmoozed the shit out of the judge during their divorce and he was trying the same shit now. Casey was surprised he didn't pull some insanity plea out of his ass, saying be was bullied in high school because of his stupid name.

Two girls and a little boy were his accusers and his own daughter testified as a witness. Casey had Olivia too. She put Stabler on the stand essentially for shits and giggles, just to reinforce her rock solid argument. He, of course, tried to say that his ex-wife put the kids up to the whole thing, and some character witnesses came out of the woodword. She was apparently bitter that she signed a shitty pre-nup and was getting barely any alimony. His lawyer kept going on and on about how he was an upstanding citizen - a high-end investment banker prick. He had money, maybe a little more than he should have, but no one could quite prove it, so they stuck to the fact that he was always copping feels of kids.

His attorney, Roger Kressler, kept grilling the children, made several snide remarks directly at Casey, and then made an impassioned closing argument about Borden's spotless record, involvement in the PTA, malicious ex-wife, bullshit, bullshit, overprotective parents, kids that don't understand what they're accusing him off, more bullshit. There was no way the jury would buy the glaring crap that they both spewed. Open and shut in her favor, Casey thought.

The jury went to deliberate and Casey greeted Olivia outside of the courtroom.

"What's up?" Casey asked.

"You know we IDed the girl from the office building yesterday, right?"

She was surprised, "No? I've been wrapped up in this circus. It's gotten more ridiculous since you testified. What do you need from me?"

"Oh, nothing." She answered, "I was just letting you know what was going on. Her name was Amelia."

"Anything turn up from the warrant I got you?" Casey didn't want to think of the little girl, who now had a name, which made it worse.

Olivia shook her head, "Not yet. We've got a few shaky alibis to check out. We literally interviewed every human being that could get into that building."

"Why'd it take so long to ID the girl?"

"Her parents were divorced and there was some sort of mix-up with where the girl was supposed to be. The parents aren't on good terms, and each thought she was with the other. Imagine that."

Casey rolled her eyes, "Jesus."

"I know. We're thinking she got taken after school. She was probably waiting there a while and neither of her parents showed up, so she got in the car with a stranger...or someone she knew and trusted. We have no idea yet. Huang said it may be someone angry with one of the parents, but we haven't come across anyone angry with either of them, except the other."

"You know I have no idea how to interact with kids, but I can't imagine being a parent and being so mad at my ex that I'd fucking neglect my kid." Casey had no idea how to interact with anyone really.

"Language, Ms. Novak," Kressler said, walking by and not stopping after his comment.

"I want to put his balls in a vice," Casey muttered quietly.

Olivia tried to fight back a smile, "That would be a sex crime and I'd have to arrest you."

"I wouldn't really, I don't own a vice." She looked at her watch, "I need to head back to my office to try and get ahead on some of my paperwork. I can't imagine the jury taking long to come up with a verdict for Borden."

"He's such a sleaze. I wonder how much he got away with before we caught him."

"I don't even want to think about it. I'm sure I nailed him." She started to go on her way.

"I can't wait for you to nail this next perp."

"Yeah. See you, Liv." Casey really didn't want to think about the girl in the stairwell until she had to, and right now she didn't have to. She hadn't looked at any pictures, and had only glanced at the case file so far. She looked into it enough to get a warrant for the list of every person given an entry card to the building and that was it.

…

Casey stormed from the courtroom the following day.

The last thing she heard was Kressler saying, "It's about time you got taken down a notch since you got back."

She power-walked down the hall, not making eye contact nor speaking to anyone. She maintained her composure until she reached her office at which point she slammed the door behind her, causing the blinds to clatter noisily. She threw her briefcase against her bookshelf, knocking down a number of tomes.

Before she could continue her tantrum, she heard a knock on her door.

Elliot opened the door, "Casey?"

She turned.

His eyes landed on the bookshelf, "What happened? Everything ok?"

"Mistrial."

"What? Jordan Borden?" He looked at her in disbelief.

"Yes."

"But what happened in here?"

She shrugged and collapsed into her chair behind her desk. "Hung jury. Two jurors. Two."

"What the hell? I can see one idiot saying not guilty, but two idiots?"

"Yeah." She shook her head.

Elliot shifted his weight around and then put his hands in his pockets, "We caught the guy we think did the girl in the stairwell. He hasn't invoked yet and we think we might be able to get a confession out of him. I've been trying to call you and then I was going to catch you after the verdict, but I guess you booked it out of there."

She sighed and got back up, collecting her briefcase from the floor. "I had to get out of there before I kicked Kressler in the dick. He has it in for me." She straightened out her jacket and shirt then said, "Let's go get this asshole and I'll deal with the retrial later."

On their way out, Kressler and Borden were lurking on the steps, finishing off some statements to the media. Casey ignored them both, angrily.

Borden broke off from the reporters, patted Kressler on the back, and chased Casey down. "Novak! Miss Novak!"

She couldn't ignore him now. She took a deep breath and turned around to face him. Elliot stood next to her, protectively.

"I heard you were on probation for three years. At least this mistrial wasn't because of a…what do you call it?" He snapped his fingers, as if trying to come up with the term, but he was blatantly feigning ignorance. "Oh, that's right, a Brady violation."

"I'm glad you've become so close with your attorney. You'll be needing him again shortly."

He rocked back and forth from his heels to his toes and smiled, "If you can get a judge to hear it."

"What're you saying, Borden?" Elliot butted in.

He shrugged and kept smiling with his perfect white smile, "I know a lot of people."

"I know a lot of people too, Borden."

"But will they listen to you now, Novak? From what I hear, you're pretty washed up." Before she could respond, he went on, looking her in the eye the entire time. "Kressler's right, it is about time you got taken down a notch. I say two notches, maybe three. You've messed with the wrong man."

Casey rolled her eyes and Elliot firmly pointed a finger at him, "Was that a threat, buddy?"

He shrugged again, "I know a lot of people."

"Come on, Elliot. Let's go," Casey said and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Elliot's sleeve and started to pull him away, but he had gotten defensive – as he tended to do.

Borden, with a wink, turned on his heel and headed back toward Kressler.

"I think he threatened you," Elliot told her.

"You don't have to stick up for me. Don't worry about it."

"I wish I could prove he tampered with the jury." He clinched his fists and wanted to punch something.

"El, relax."

He huffed about it, but dropped the subject and they headed for the precinct.

…

"Get your ass off my desk, Novak," Fin said to her jokingly.

She had been sitting aimlessly on the edge with her arms crossed, staring at the evidence board across the room. She got up and grabbed her briefcase, "Sorry, Fin."

"We'll get him. Just because we had to cut him loose today, doesn't mean we won't get him."

"Today has just been shit."

"I know, but we're gonna surveillance this prick to make sure he doesn't try anything else, while we round up some fuckin' evidence that isn't circumstantial." He sat down in his chair and shifted around some papers.

"God, what if it isn't even him and we're wasting resources-"

"Casey, hush." Munch looked up from his nearby desk, "There's nothing indicating he's done this before or will do it again. No similar MOs in the system."

"_Why_ would…err…did he do it though?" Casey asked him, feeling herself becoming abnormally concerned with the motives behind the attack. She was being forced to think about it now.

Munch shrugged, "Ask Huang. We don't know yet."

She looked back at the evidence board. There wasn't much on it - a bunch of dead ends and loose ends. The one lead pointed toward the guy that just walked out. He was a family friend, he picked up Amelia from school on the day in question, but then he gave some shitty explanation that he dropped her off at her dad's, and he had no alibi. He did used to work in that office building, but he had transferred to another branch of the company and said he no longer had his card. He lawyered up just before she and Stabler arrived and then they couldn't get a word out of him. They had nothing to hold him on since there was no DNA evidence and only a dead girl as a witness, so he was out of there.

Everyone was talking and it was all a bunch of mumbling around her. She ignored it. She stared at that fucking board, looking for some answer that the detectives had overlooked somehow.

Snapping her out of her trance was Elliot shouting, "Hey, look who's here!"

Turning, she saw a tall, thin woman standing in the doorway. She wore black heels, a pencil skirt, and a form-fitting thigh length jacket over a bright blue top. Her long blonde hair cascaded around her face and fell on her shoulders. Her skin was a bit more bronzed than the last time she saw her, but she still looked undeniably flawless.

Olivia got up promptly to greet her and clap her on the back.

Casey just stood there where she was. Everyone got up to excitedly greet the woman who had been gone for two years. She didn't think the day could get worse, but then Alex fucking Cabot showed up out of nowhere, and then she started walking toward her – that magical bitch, coming to fix everything, using her attorney superpowers. Maybe it was her glasses, those black-framed hipster glasses…maybe her glasses were magic and the source of her powers.

**_A/N: _**_FYI - __If you are also reading my story "Emissary," (or if you're interested in doing so) - and you were unaware - I'm updating it on livejournal now because this website hates me. I've added several chapters since my last update here. The link is on my profile because this website will also not let me put a URL in a story chapter. /grumble_


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

There was nowhere to hide and no place to run. Casey was stuck like a deer in headlights in the path of Alexandra Cabot. Casey didn't hate Alex by any means. Maybe the feeling she felt was jealousy, intense admiration, something. Alex's presence wavered her confidence even more, she was sure of that much. She didn't have time to figure out the other feelings at the moment.

She stuck out her hand, "Alex-"

The woman bypassed her hand and hugged her, interrupting her greeting. She stood there stiffly, unprepared for this much physical contact. Casey didn't like being unprepared. She had no time to prepare. This was unfair. It was a sneak attack. Why the hell was Cabot so chipper anyway? Lawyers are never chipper.

"How've you been?" The blonde asked her, holding onto her shoulders and looking her over. "You're not disbarred!"

"Wonderful." Casey answered flatly.

"God, I haven't seen you since you convicted Connors. The WPP shipped me off right after the verdict. That was what? Six years ago?"

"Yes. Six."

"I owe you a drink!"

"That's not necessary."

"I need to go say hello to Captain Cragen – that cranky old man. Is he completely bald yet?"

"Yes." Casey answered although she thought the question might be rhetorical.

Alex laughed and continued her magical journey of happiness through SVU headquarters. Her very presence cheered everyone up, everyone except Casey, who concluded that she had finished saving the world. Alex Cabot had probably ended rape entirely. She possibly captured every rapist, ever. That was why she was back in Manhattan. She had come back to be the SVU ADA again, and everyone would pick her. Everyone liked her more. Fuck. Paranoid much? Casey tried to shake the unrealistic absurdities from her mind. She always looked so stupidly flawless too, no matter what she had been off doing.

Cabot made it in and out of Cragen's office before Casey could even finish talking herself out of the intense paranoia that suddenly washed over her. Alex approached her again, and she still had no time to prepare. She needed to go over every possible scenario at least twice before she was prepared.

Everyone huddled around and Alex said, "Listen, I'm only in town for a week and then I have to go to DC. I'm speaking a forum late tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone was interested in having some drinks with me tonight and catching up? Or is today a bad day? How late is everyone working? I've missed you all so much."

…

Casey rapped her fingers on her desk and stared at her computer and then looked at the two files next to it. She looked back at her computer and the down at her watch and then at the time on the corner of her screen. As far as she knew, everyone else in the DA's office had gone for the day and she was the last one left, as always. She had only been back for a few weeks and she was already stuck in her old routine of staying late and coming in early. Everything was just like it was...sort of. She couldn't help but feel like she'd lost her edge...or something. Borden's stupid comments earlier that day didn't help.

She didn't feel like a badass and she could've sworn that everyone looked at her differently in the halls and even in the precinct. She was, after all, the ADA who violated due process and somehow talked Melinda Warner into lying on the stand - shit. After she was censured, she disappeared. She didn't bother telling anyone goodbye or what had happened exactly. She just left, and then the brilliant rumor went around that she'd been disbarred. She was surprised that she wasn't, since good old Jack McCoy had threatened it before.

She stared at the glowing screen and chewed the inside of her cheek a bit, trying to make some sort of decision. She wasn't getting much done and acknowledged that. She had lost what she thought would be an easy case and received a bizarre threat from the defendant, but they had a lead on the fuck who gouged out that girl's eyes – all of these things deserved a drink for one reason or another. She kept finding herself envious of everyone else out having a good time while she was sitting alone in her office, trying to think of ways to re-establish herself as less of a joke attorney. She could just come in extra early in the morning to finish up these notes. It wasn't often that everyone went out together, especially in the middle of a fucking investigation. Alex Cabot had worked her fucking magic.

She kept telling herself she wouldn't be out late. She'd have a drink and catch up with the detectives. She felt out of place with the group she had once thought of as friends that she worked with almost every day. It had been three fucking years and there was certainly shit to catch up on.

Then there was Alex fucking Cabot - her predecessor, the magical bitch, who reappeared out of nowhere from her magical crusade for human rights in the Congo. Cabot went from prosecuting sex offenders to saving the fucking world, and what had Casey managed? To get her ass put on probation for three years, during which time she stayed holed up in her apartment, living off of her savings, and watching television. Magical. Alex Cabot was made of magic and badass, while Casey was made out of awkward and neurotic. Everyone liked Alex more than her, they always did. She never felt like she quite filled her shoes, and damn if Alex didn't get away with everything. She was held in contempt a few times and was accused of withholding evidence, but what happened? She got sent off to Appeals Court, and now she was saving the world while Casey sat on her ass in her office alone getting nothing done and feeling surprisingly inadequate.

After weighing her options methodically, she set her mind on one drink at the bar, not revealing to a single person that her confidence had been severely shaken over the last few years, going home, and then coming in again a few hours early. Staying late and coming in early were the same difference, as long as she didn't stay out incredibly late. But coffee - that is what coffee was for. It would be fine. Her mixture of jealousy and admiration of Alex Cabot were what finally pushed her to get up from her comfy chair.

…

The four detectives trickled into the bar where Alex was waiting and eating a plate of French fries. The Captain even made it out to sip on a glass of club soda, while everyone else took shots. Warner emerged from her lair to say hello, but she didn't stay to Alex's disappointment.

"Do you remember that time I yelled at you and said I didn't work for you?" Alex asked Cragen with a smile.

"Oh, yes. I'll never forget that. You scared the hell out of me."

They all reminisced and a few times, Alex halted conversation to look at the time and wonder aloud, "Do you think Casey's going to make it? I get the feeling she hates me, which I deserve."

"You don't deserve any such thing," Olivia disagreed vehemently.

"I think I was sort of a bitch when I came to testify for the Connors trial," she shrugged.

"You were afraid of being shot," Olivia continued defending Alex to herself.

"Casey's a little weird, Alex," Fin told her.

"I've had a few drinks with her since she's been back," Elliot said, "She does go out. She just usually parks it at the bar alone and reads."

"We haven't been very inclusive of her…" Olivia pointed out, feeling a bit guilty. "I wasn't even here when she came back."

"Neither was I, but it is Casey. She'd probably politely decline anyway if anyone asked her to do anything." Munch added in his two cents.

"I've tried," commented Elliot. "The only reason I had drinks with her is because I ran into her here."

"She just likes to focus on her work, guys." Fin vaguely defended Casey now, although they weren't attacking per se.

"Speaking of work, I've gotta get out of here," Cragen stood and adjusted his suspenders. "Don't upset Novak. I'd like to keep an ADA for longer than a few trials. I've heard she doesn't really want to do sex crimes anymore. She wants to go back to white collar."

"Who'd you hear that from?" Olivia asked first.

"I have my sources, Liv." He finished off his club soda, leaving a few pieces of ice. "It was nice to see you Alex." He put on his jacket and sauntered on out. He liked that he could drink his club soda for free. It was one of the perks of being a police captain.

"Bye, Captain," they all muttered and saw him off.

The chatter picked up again shortly.

Casey apprehensively opened the door and poked her head into the dimly lit tavern. At first she didn't see anyone - she normally sat at the bar alone, like Elliot said, taking shots to help her sleep, and then hoping in a cab to go home to the Upper West Side. The larger group had chosen a table toward the back instead. For a split second, she thought they had all played a nasty trick on her because everyone secretly hated her now. She felt relieved when she spotted them. She weaved between a few other people and then pulled Cragen's worn chair back up to the table next to Stabler.

"Casey! We didn't think you'd make it!" He exclaimed.

"I finished up early," she lied with a slight smile. She glanced around the table and felt as if she had interrupted something. Draping her jacket over the back of the chair, she pointed toward the bar, "I'm going to grab a drink. Anyone need anything while I'm up, or do we have a server or what?"

"Grab some water for me, Case." Olivia said, finishing off whatever she was drinking from a martini glass, "I've got to be up early."

"Leaving already?" The redhead frowned. She was prepared this time for interacting, and mustered multi-word responses.

"I'll stick around a little while. We haven't gotten much of a chance to talk, but I do have to be at work at the crack of dawn because of the Amelia case."

She frowned again. There Olivia was, bringing up that thing that Casey so desperately didn't want to think about.

"Sit your ass down, Casey," Fin said getting to his feet across from her, "I'll get your drink. It's on me. What's your poison? Whisky, right? And what else? I'll get you a beer too because I know you had a shit day."

"No, no shots for me," she attempted to protest. "Work tomorrow."

"Sit your ass down," he said more firmly.

"You got your work done. You should spend some time with us after your great disappearing act. I will even be a gentleman and drive you home if you happen to have too many of my partner's shots." Munch looked at her suspiciously over the top of his glasses. His transitions lenses had become dark and he looked like one of the Men in Black.

"That's really not necessary…" She had not thought this through as much as she believed she had. She was unprepared for the peer pressure from the bunch of detectives.

"Casey, just sit down." The blonde woman next to Olivia spoke to her sternly, but with a smirk.

Casey found herself finally sitting at her request. Not even Casey Novak says no to Alexandra Cabot – magical bitch, compelling her to sit, just like that.

"Finally," Elliot let out an exaggerated sigh. "You are one of the most stubborn women I've ever met."

"Speaking of stubborn women, you just missed dad – I mean, Captain Cragen." Munch said facetiously, eliciting some chuckles as Fin went to the bar.

Fin came back and slipped back into his chair between Casey and Munch. He did not come bearing drinks and said, "Somebody's gonna bring the drinks out to us. I accidentally ordered six shots, so I guess everybody has to have one."

"Fin," Olivia chided him.

"Shut your mouth, Liv. You've been nursing that girly drink all night. I think you can handle a shot and still make it home."

"I'll give you a ride home if you want, and I'll pick you up in the morning. I have to be in at the same time," Elliot volunteered.

Munch and Alex exchanged a quick glance that only Casey caught, which made her snicker.

Fin was watching the server bring their tray of adult beverages, making sure she didn't drop anything. He got to his feet again and offered assistance to the girl, "I got that. I got that." He doled out the shot glasses starting with Casey, "Whisky, bourbon, vodka, rum, whisky, rum."

He had what looked like a Bloody Mary for himself, a dark stout for Casey, and a cup of water for Benson. Alex indicated toward his drink, "Is that what I think it is, Fin? Since when do you drink those?"

"I gotta get my vegetables."

"They taste like steak sauce," Olivia said.

"I like steak sauce," he responded.

"Are we going to toast to something or can I drink this?" Munch asked, holding up his little glass of amber liquid.

"To Alex making headway in human rights," Olivia suggested promptly.

Of course, Casey thought, of course to Alex. Alex accomplished things.

"You guys are so sweet."

Modest too. Casey forced a smile and held up her glass, "To Alex."

"Hear, hear!" Shouted Munch.

Everyone downed their shots. Casey sat back and observed the group. She listened to their conversations, nodding and laughing appropriately, sipping her drink, but having no interest in joining in. Alex got Olivia to talk about her repeated failed relationships and bad dates. Munch talked about his serial marrying habit briefly, which turned into a conversation about how everyone at the table would die alone except Elliot. He looked proud of himself. Things were going well at home apparently, for once.

Olivia got up after that, "I've gotta get going."

"Need a ride? I need to head out too really." Stabler looked at his watch and got up also.

"May as well." She turned to Alex, "It was great to see you. Let me know when you're not busy and in town."

"You can count on it, Liv." She stood and gave her a hug before moving on and doing the same to Elliot.

They left together, Elliot holding the door for his partner like a good gentleman. After the door swung shut behind them, everyone at the table looked at each other. Alex took a long draught of whatever she was drinking and asked the question no one in the unit dared to breech, "Have they slept together yet?"

Everyone blinked and remained silent. Casey studied the blonde as covertly as she could. Was Alex Cabot drunk? Was that even possible? Do magical bitches get drunk?

Munch now looked at Alex over the top of his glasses, "I wonder that everyday."

Fin laughed, snorting into his Bloody Mary.

"I asked her once…not so eloquently. More shouted it at her as fact because she barged into my office being crazy." Casey finally said something.

"Oh, yeah! That was when that schizo guy busted up Elliot's head!" Fin exclaimed, remembering the incident.

"Yeah. She brought up all of that shit about Charlie. McCoy threatened to disbar me."

"You were working with the defense, Casey." Munch said in a sing-song voice, reminding her.

"Come on, it was Moredock."

"Oh, Barry! I need to go see him tomorrow! I love Barry!" Alex became suddenly excited at the mention of the old Constitutional lawyer, and now judge's, name.

"You faced him all the time though, didn't you?" Casey asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't like him. He's like my Judge Donelly...sort of."

"Don't tell me you also like Kressler."

"God, no. He's a little prick."

"Are you two going to talk about every attorney and judge you both know?" Munch asked the women, crossing his arms.

Casey responded, "I sense you're not interested in the subject."

"I'd prefer to talk about UFOs, but I don't suppose it's an option." He relaxed and finished off his pint, "I need to get some sleep though, and you two can gossip about everyone in the DA's office once I'm gone…unless you'd like a ride, Casey?"

"I'll take a cab. Don't worry about it, John. I need to get going as soon as I finish this," Casey pointed to her beer.

"Alright, see you ladies later. You coming, Fin?"

Detective Tutuola looked at his phone, "Aw, shit. Yeah. I gotta go too."

Casey panicked and began drinking more rapidly. She didn't want to be left alone with Cabot. She didn't know exactly why, but she knew she didn't. She sat her glass down with more force than she intended, and subsequently drew more attention to herself than she intended. Everyone looked at her.

"Thanks for the drinks, Fin. Maybe I will take you up on that ride, Munch." She spoke quickly.

"Come on, Casey…" Alex pleaded, "This is my one night where I have nothing to do in the morning and I've been traveling all over the place for two years. Don't leave me here alone at this big table."

Casey looked at her, and couldn't form words. Not even a simple, "No."

Alex pouted and made some sad eyes from behind her glasses, "Please? It's not that late. You finished your work, so you don't need to go in early. I know you're like me and probably want to go in early anyway, but make an exception for one night."

"Just stay, Casey. I think you could use some socialization," Munch said, only half in jest.

"I owe you a drink from six years ago," Alex looked her right in the face with her bright blue eyes, and some undeniable fucking sincerity.

"You can't turn down free drinks, Casey." Fin pointed out the basic social rule as he too got up to leave.

"She makes a good argument," Munch said and patted her on the shoulder patronizingly.

Casey sighed, "That she does."

"Victory!" Alex threw her hands in the air and then hugged the two men goodbye. She walked behind Casey and grabbed her shoulders firmly before leaning down to her ear and saying, "I'm going to the ladies' room, grabbing us some more drinks, and then we can gossip about everyone in the DA's office."


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Elliot and Olivia sat quietly in Elliot's car. They were both exhausted from the last few days. Olivia had been sleeping in the bunk room when she slept. She couldn't stop thinking about Amelia in the stairwell with her empty eye sockets. That poor girl and the fact that her parents were too busy fighting with each other to even realize she was missing. Sometimes she was glad she just had a drunk mom, rather than two parents fighting.

"Hey, what's bugging you?" Elliot slapped her on the knee as he drove toward her apartment.

"I'm just tired and I feel a little guilty for going out when we still haven't wrapped up this case…" She confessed.

"There was nothing else we could do tonight. We know who the guy is, we just need to bring him in for _something_ and then I'll get a confession out of him."

"I know, I just…" She sighed.

"Want to go back to the station? I'll stare at the evidence board with you." He was trying to make her laugh and failing.

"Yeah. Would you drop me off there instead? That way you won't have to pick me up in the morning either."

"Seriously, Liv?" He looked over at her.

"Yeah. You don't have to stay though."

He thought for a second, "I'll stay. I don't feel like driving all the way to Queens tonight anyway. I'll just send Kathy a text and tell her."

Olivia just looked out the window.

"Did you fall asleep on me, already?" He smacked her on the knee again and smiled.

"No, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

She shook her head, "I'm going to try to catch a nap when we get back and then I'm going to get up and do some work."

"Did Alex make you feel bad with that whole dying alone bullshit? I think getting exposed to all of that shit going on in Africa made her a little crazy."

He nailed it. That was eating at her as well. It hadn't sunk in until they got into the car. She laughed and joked about her inability to form lasting relationships at the time, but now it wasn't so funny.

"Forget about it, Liv." He spoke to her sternly.

The only person she had ever managed to sustain any type of prolonged relationship with was Elliot, and that bothered her too. It bothered her from time to time, and it was about time for it to rear its ugly head again.

…

Fuck, now Casey was stuck here with this woman she couldn't seem to decide if she wanted to punch in the face or wanted to be just like. She looked down into the bottom of her empty glass. She thought about making a run for it while Alex was in the bathroom. She could come up with a bullshit story about an emergency. But then she felt guilty, which again raised the question in her mind about what exactly she felt toward Cabot.

She heard Alex's heels on the wooden floor. The woman went to the bar for more drinks. Wonderful. She definitely needed to escape after this drink. She had too much work to do and being around Alex just made her feel like a second-rate prosecutor, and also made her feel generally inept at everything. She knew it wasn't completely true and that she was being irrational. She was a good lawyer, she really was, and she tried reciting that mantra to herself as she heard Alex coming back.

"Casey Novak," the blonde woman said, sliding another beer in front of her and then retaking her seat.

She looked up and mimicked her tone, "Alex Cabot."

"Greylek told everyone you were disbarred."

"I know. She's such a cunt." Casey covered her mouth after she let that slip out.

Alex laughed loudly and abruptly, seeming more human than superhuman robot for once.

"I really shouldn't have said that. Sorry." Casey apologized.

Alex still laughed and waved her hands in front of her, trying to calm down, "No, no! I don't care. She is definitely not my favorite. I just didn't expect _you_ to say that."

Casey slouched forward and clutched her new cold beer and tried to think of where to take this conversation.

Alex also leaned forward, but she put her elbows on the table and then put her chin in her hands, "I bet we look like idiots sitting this far away from each other at this huge table."

"Do you want me to move?" Casey asked her. "Or we could go sit at that smaller table."

"Let's move," Alex got up and in one fluid motion, she seemed to grab her purse, jacket, and drink at once.

"Oh, crap. Fin left his jacket." Casey pointed out.

"The leather one?"

She picked it up, "Yeah. I'll take it to him tomorrow."

"I always wanted to put it on."

"How drunk are you?" Casey spoke out loud and hadn't intended to.

Alex just laughed and she followed her to the nearby smaller table that two gentleman got up from about half an hour before. They assumed the positions they had been in at the other table, and Casey checked her email on her phone.

"What's happening at your end of the SVU world?" Alex asked, sipping her beer.

Casey looked at her for a moment. She didn't imagine Alex Cabot drinking beer. She seemed more like a wine-drinker, or someone who would drink out of fancy crystal champagne flutes. Perhaps she was a normal mortal. "Same old depressing nonsense. I got threatened today after court, but that's not really out of the ordinary."

"Did you put some bastard away for life or what?"

She laughed slightly, "Actually, no. It was a mistrial. I'm sure he tampered with the jury somehow, but he covers his tracks magnificently. He was actually in the system – domestic violence, sexual assaults – charges were all dropped though, every time. His wife finally divorced him, but he ended up with joint custody of their daughter."

"Shit. Does he have money?"

Casey nodded, "Too much for an investment banker."

"Probably drug trafficking."

She nodded again, "But like I said, he covers his tracks. No one could figure it out. We tried."

"You think he paid off jurors?"

"Definitely, the more I think about it. The thing is, he doesn't actually seem that intelligent. He more just seems crazy."

"Those are the ones you've gotta look out for. Who's his lawyer?"

"Kressler." Casey answered.

"God, it figures. I hate that little man." Raising her pint glass, Alex said, "To hating that little man."

Casey smiled a bit and tapped the lip of her glass to Alex's before taking a gulp. She was finally starting to relax, and chalked it up to the alcohol.

"What about not work-related stuff? Got anything going on there? You were pretty quiet when everyone was here. I didn't peg you for being shy."

"I'm not shy," she chuckled, "I just didn't have anything to say."

"What? No bad dates?" Alex stared at her in disbelief.

"Just no dates."

"What? Really?" The statement took her aback.

"I don't have time. You, of all people, should know what this job is like."

"I know," she admitted, "But really? Not even one date? None of your friends set you up on a terrible blind date?"

Shaking her head, she said, "Nope."

"Tell me people at least asked you out."

"There's a guy I knew from when I worked in white collar, who tries every now and again, but I really never have time. If it's not one thing, it's another."

Alex accepted the information, but took some time to think about it, and she drank her beer slowly, looking the other attorney over carefully.

"Do you ever miss working in sex crimes?" Casey asked her. "I mean…you still are, but on a bigger scale, I guess…"

"I don't so much miss the sex crimes as I miss the people I worked with everyday." Alex responded substantially more condescending than she meant to.

"That was a dumb question. I was just trying to make conversation." Casey buried her head in her drink, feeling embarrassed. No one fucking likes sex crimes. No one would miss working in sex crimes. You don't do it because you like it. Alex was surely going to think she was a weirdo, who enjoyed sex crimes!

"No! Don't be silly," she reached across the table and grabbed Casey's shoulder, a comforting gesture. "I didn't mean to be a bitch. I really miss Liv and Elliot. I miss having friends. I didn't have much of a life here, but I had more of one than I do now, and I miss that rape is actually considered a crime here."

"So what've you been doing?" Casey asked her, trying to recover.

Alex got quiet and pulled her hand away, folding her arms on the table. "I really don't want to talk about it. Just for tonight. I don't want to think about it."

"Yeah, I've been trying so hard not to think about the current case everyone's working on. It keeps cropping up though, and I'll have to deal with it soon enough."

Groaning, Alex downed the rest of her drink. "No more work talk."

Casey readily sensed Alex's unease. "You're a lot more pleasant than the last time I saw you."

"I don't have anyone trying to kill me at the moment. I'm sure I do, but not so blatantly."

Another dumb comment, Casey felt. She, once more, dove into her drink. She knew it was a poor coping mechanism, but it gave her the impression of feeling better briefly.

Alex transitioned the conversation, "Want another round?"

"I don't think I should. I should really get going soon." Casey attempted a protest for what she was sure was the hundredth time.

"Oh, come on. You're not seriously going to make me sit here and drink alone on the one night I have more or less off." She pouted and used the same argument she already used.

Casey wondered how many drinks Cabot had put away before she arrived. She glanced at her watch and sighed, "Fine."

"It's on me."

"No…" She attempted again to protest, but it was completely in vain.

Alex had already thrown a hand into the air to flag down a waitress. "I have a tab to close at the bar, but can you bring us another round of…" She looked at Casey for an answer about a type of beer. Casey shrugged in response, feeling like an idiot for multiple reasons at this point. "Another round of…hell…bring a pitcher of whatever is on special tonight."

The waitress nodded.

"I really should only have one more and then head home. I need to be back in the office by 6 at the latest to finish up some things and I have an arraignment in the morning."

Alex looked at her. She knew Casey either lied about being finished to come out, or lied about having work to do in order to leave. Alex couldn't tell which. She twisted her hair around her finger and wondered if Casey would fess up if she stared at her long enough. Casey was busy with her previous beer, not making eye contact and looking embarrassed again about something. At that moment, Alex realized that the other attorney was extremely intimidated by her. This made her feel briefly awful, but then the alcohol shifted her thoughts to the fact that it was sort of amusing. She nudged Casey with her foot under the little table.

Once the redhead looked up, Alex said, "Another reason I'm in a pleasant mood is because what I've been doing for the past few years has been unpleasant. I've found that I _have_ to be in a good mood as much as I can because otherwise…I don't know. It's just too much to deal with. So…" She paused, "Here I am…being as happy as I can be, while I can be."

_**A/N: **I feel like this was a boring shit ending. I'm building up to things though, I swear. I'll pick up the pace soon._


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

A few more drinks in, Casey actually began to relax, which was a strange state of existence for her. She was miraculously quite enjoying the talk with Alex. It felt good to talk to someone who understood her job and had done it before. Alex understood the pressures and all of the other bullshit that came with prosecuting sex crimes. Before she knew it she had begun rambling and pouring out all of her stress from the past few days, about how she wanted to go back to white collar, but felt guilty, and about how everyone thought she was washed up, so on and so forth. Alex just smiled and nodded. Casey didn't know if she was actually listening and cared or not, but it didn't matter because she couldn't stop talking.

"Stop talking about work," Alex reached across the table and squeezed her hand, "Stop."

"But I-"

"Ah! Zip it!" She interrupted. "Let's talk about something else, something that is not rape or child abuse or anything along those lines. You're bringing me down." She changed the subject, "What do you do for fun?"

Casey stared at her blankly and couldn't stop thinking about why this woman was basically holding her hand. It stopped her from thinking about her job and that was for sure. If she pulled away it would certainly be awkward and she was trying so hard to avoid being awkward, although she had just been talking for twenty minutes straight. Her feelings had now graduated on to wanting to impress Cabot.

"Don't you play softball?"

"Played," she corrected, "Past tense."

Alex made a face causing a small crease to appear in her forehead. She took her hand away to scratch the back of her head. All of her motions were deliberate and intentional. She clearly didn't feel as awkward as Casey.

"What do you do for fun?" Casey asked her.

"Lately? Nothing. This is the most fun I've had in over a year, I think. Systematic rape really isn't very fun, nor is dealing with dickhead politicians." The corners of her mouth drooped as she spoke, "Let's not talk about all that. I'm going to have to talk about it constantly with everyone for the next few days. No work talk, Ms. Novak. We both have jobs we can't even pretend are pleasant. Even when we get the perps put away forever, everything is still shit and we can't get them all."

Casey sulked again, but only briefly. Alex picked up the pitcher and topped off her beer for her, and she made another valiant attempt to protest, "No, I really need to go soon."

This time Alex completely ignored her, "Did you know Liv was in a sorority?"

"No. She doesn't seem like the sorority type."

"I know! It caught me off guard." She took a large gulp, "You seem like the sorority type."

"God, no. I played softball. What about you?"

"I wasn't so much into the sports. I did a lot of clubs, that's all, and class. Lots of class."

They engaged in trivial chit-chat for a while, which Casey usually found annoying, but she didn't mind it. She forgot about work bullshit and gave up trying to leave. At some point in the conversation she moved her chair closer to Alex to look at some pictures on her phone of assorted African things that didn't relate to crimes against humanity and rebel uprisings. She lost count of how many drinks she had at the point that Alex put her hand on her thigh like it was the most natural next step. The redhead looked down and then looked back up, but the other woman had not skipped a beat.

Do you tell Alex Cabot to stop touching you or do you just ignore it? Casey wondered, not listening to a damn thing Alex was saying. She couldn't even remember what they had been talking about. She had become completely focused on the hand placement situation and became lost to the conversation. She went with ignore it and then nodded her head to give the impression that she had been paying attention.

When Casey's phone vibrated, she shifted around a bit in the chair and went to answer it. Alex kept her left hand firmly where it was and sipped her beer with the other.

"Who the hell would be calling me right now?" Casey mused aloud and pursed her lips seeing that he number was unavailable. She answered, "Novak." Paused. "Hello? Who is this?" Then hung up.

"No one there?"

"Yeah, I hate that shit. If you dialed the wrong number, just say so and hang up. Hell, don't say anything, just hang up."

"What was the number?"

"Unavailable. Also annoying." The moment she sat her phone down, it began vibrating again. Still unavailable. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She answered it anyway, "Novak."

After she hung up again, Alex said, "Do you think it has to do with that defendant threatening you today?"

"Calling me from an unavailable number and not saying anything is hardly 'taking me down a notch'..." She made quotations with her fingers.

"I got shot, remember?"

"And I got beaten up in my office by a guy whose sister I saved from being deported."

"Yeah. And Paxton..."

She began to anxiously swirl her pint glass, "I thought you said no work talk."

"I'm sorry. I just…I dunno…I worry about shit like that…"

"Like what?" Before she could answer the phone rang again and it was unavailable still. "Novak." She paused and then said, "You know you're calling an ADA, right? I do have the means to trace this number, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling me at this hour." She hung up.

Alex made a face.

"This is mostly just fucking annoying." She put her phone on silent, "Remind me to turn the ringer back on before I leave. Sometimes I do get legit calls at odd hours."

She nodded, "You should tell someone about it…just to be safe."

"I know, I know," she sighed, "I will in the morning if it happens again." Alex gave her leg a gentle squeeze that she assumed was meant to be comforting, but it ultimately sent Casey into an awkward death spiral. She downed the remainder of her drink and then said, "I'm going to the bathroom. Watch my briefcase."

Casey got up so abruptly that she bumped into a nearby chair, causing it to squeak across the floor. Alex slumped forward, realizing for the first time that she was being inappropriate. Casey didn't see though because she hurried toward the bathroom without looking back.

Once in the safety of the lavatory, she just hung out in a stall, processing what was happening. She wasn't even sure it was actually happening. Alex Cabot was into women? She had heard something of the sort. Something about her and Olivia. She thought little of it – workplace chatter. She wasn't involved in the gossip and no one ever gossiped about her. She never gave them anything to gossip about. Clearly, Cabot was coming onto her, which implied that the lawyer was either very drunk or that she thought Casey was also interested in women, or a combination thereof. Just because she hadn't dated anyone since Charlie, didn't mean she was interested in women. It had only been how many years? Ten? Fuck. As reality set in, she left the stall and then looked at herself in the mirror and she toyed with the thought of a night of drunken passion with Alex Cabot, accompanied by complete and utter awkwardness that would certainly follow it.

She shook her head, chalking it up to having far more drinks than she had intended. She had far more drinks than were good for her, in fact. That was it. She was going to go back out there, bade farewell to the drunk attorney, hail a cab and go the fuck to bed. It had been fun, but that was that. She had no intention of some drinks ruining a professional relationship.

She found Alex sitting, still nursing her beer, still looking entirely too poised for someone who had consumed an inordinate amount of drinks in four hours.

The blonde immediately apologized with complete composure, "I am incredibly sorry, Casey. I feel like an idiot, and I made a horrible assumption."

Her fucking sincerity made Casey feel much better, but she wasn't sure it was actually what she wanted. She stammered, "No…I…it's fine. Don't worry about it."

Alex smiled, "I will not force another round of drinks on you, and I should probably also get going, since I've mad an ass of myself in front of a colleague."

She nodded and sat back down, but moved her chair away from Alex, "Alright, but I'm just curious…what made you think I was…you know…" Casey didn't know why she struggled so much with the thought. It's not like she hadn't been suspected of batting for the other team before. She did play softball. Hell, it wasn't as if she didn't do the whole kissing girls thing in college. "I didn't realize you were…"

"Oh, I just heard you might be, and I guess I had one too many drinks and my brain just went to shit from there." She laughed a little, "Don't tell anyone. I do feel exceptionally embarrassed. It all seemed like a great idea at the time."

"Who'd you hear it from?" Casey's curiosity peaked.

"I shouldn't disclose that." She smiled innocently.

"Jesus Christ. First people think I'm disbarred and then they think I'm a lesbian. What next?" She laughed, but stopped suddenly when her phone lit up on the table in front of her. It was an unavailable number. She hit ignore.

"You ok?"

"It was that same fucking unavailable number," she groaned. "The dickhead who threatened me wasn't even found guilty. Who does that? Who threatens the prosecutor when they _get away_ with touching kids? This phone shit is just annoying."

"Crazy bastards. Do you think it has to do with that now?"

Casey shrugged, "Hell if I know. Do you mind if I finish the pitcher?"

"Go ahead. I'll walk you out and will cover your tab since I'm an ass."

"You don't need to." Then Casey realized that she didn't even have a tab.

"What? Walk you out or pay for your drinks?"

"Both, but I don't have a tab, so…"

"I feel like I should be extra nice to you so you don't tell anyone I hit on you and you turned me down and fled to the bathroom. I will be certain to put this person in their place tomorrow that misinformed me."

"Fine."

Alex nodded smugly, but then her expression became stern. "I think you should go ahead and call someone tonight about the phone calls, just to be safe. At least let Elliot know, since he was with you when the guy made those comments."

"No, it's…" Casey looked at Alex's firm expression, and then said, "Fine." She couldn't say no to this woman, and it irked her. She didn't really say no to her advances either.

"Do it now," she instructed.

"Alright," she mumbled bitterly and poured the remainder of the pitcher into her glass. She took a sip and hit Elliot's number in her phone. Alex listened intently as she said, "Hey, El…sorry for calling this late, but I've been getting unavailable calls on my phone. I've gotten four now, and whoever it is doesn't say anything. It's just a little unnerving after today…" She stopped speaking for a moment and then said, "Yeah, I'm still here with Alex." Followed by, "Oh no, that really isn't necessary…no…no, really. I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know, and maybe we can trace it tomorrow at the end of the day…I really don't think it's an emergency. What are you doing at the station?"

Alex's expression became more and more quizzical with each of Casey's vehement protests. Her lips curled into a grin by the end of the conversation when Casey hastily hung up her phone. She tried to glare at the blonde, but quickly lost motivation.

"What?" Casey questioned. "Was it Elliot who told you?"

"Huh?" She drank her beer and feigned confusion then said, "Are you ok going home alone tonight?"

"Are you still trying to seduce me?" She laughed. The whole thing had now become humorous to her since it was out in the open.

"No, Jesus. I'm just worried about you."

Biting her bottom lip and studying her beer, she again weighed her options. She needed to go home tonight. She couldn't go to Alex's hotel because she'd have to get up exponentially earlier to go home and change clothes – that was just too much of a hassle. Did she want to go home alone? Did she want Alex fucking Cabot to come home with her? Was she completely opposed to the idea? Not entirely. She would certainly make her sleep on the couch. Fucking shit. Was she completely opposed to sleeping in the same bed with her? Not entirely. The magical bitch was only in New York for a few days before she left for DC and then she was going to be gone for the rest of the month, right? What about that professional relationship?

"Casey? Are you ok?" Alex snapped her out of her brooding silence and staring into her drink.

"I'm just drunk." She shook her head, trying to attribute her confusion to the alcohol.

"I'll sleep on the couch." The magical bitch was psychic now.

"No."

"No?" Alex was confused.

"No, I mean…fuck." Casey began to malfunction.

Tilting her head like a confused puppy, Alex said nothing. She just waited for Casey to form a coherent sentence.

Instead, Casey took a huge draught of her beer and then pressed her palm to her forehead, making Alex laugh. Casey looked at her out of the corner of her eye. Had this final drink pushed her over the edge into the strange territory she had not trekked since her undergrad? In that second, she became increasingly aware of how much her life sucked, but she couldn't figure out if this was the way to fix it or if she were being self-destructive or what.

"Maybe I should finish your beer," Alex suggested lightheartedly.

"Didn't you date that jackass, Langan?"

"Yes."

"And Jim Steele?"

"Yes, and I object to this line of questioning."

"Come home with me."

Alex's brow furrowed with confusion, "I'm not sure how we got from point A to point B here."

"Just tonight. I'm drunk and feeling paranoid now, thanks to you. It'll make me feel better to not be alone in my apartment."

"Couch?"

"Yes. Certainly the couch. No funny business, Cabot." Casey had not actually looked at Alex and still held her palm to her face.

"Seriously though, should I finish your beer?"

Casey finally changed position. She rubbed her eyebrows and then shook her head before taking another huge gulp. "Look, you are incredibly attractive…" She winced, hearing her own words. She suddenly felt far more drunk than she had felt in the minutes before. How the fuck did it take so long to hit her? "For a woman. I…just…I'm…my fiancé, Charlie, and…"

"Use your words, Novak. I hope you don't talk like this in court."

"Now you're being mean."

"No," she was a little taken aback. "You've just stopped making sense."

"I just don't interact like…this. At all. With people, in general. Girls, guys…no one. I don't have time."

"What about when you were on probation?"

"No."

"What the hell did you do for three years?"

"I read and pretty much memorized every law book I own and I watched a lot of doctor drama shows."

"Family?"

"What about them?"

"Did you visit them or anything?"

"I visit them every year for Christmas. Relevance?"

Alex laughed, "Where do they live?"

"Poughkeepsie."

Alex's initially quiet laughter exploded into riotous laughter, "You seriously…did nothing for the last three years. I thought…I thought you were joking."

Casey failed to be amused. Casey rarely joked. "I just had some sort of drunk epiphany and realized I'm socially inept and you're laughing at me, which really doesn't help."

"You didn't do terribly tonight." Alex resisted the urge she had to pat her on the shoulder, or even on the knee. "I really enjoyed your company minus me making an ass out of myself."

"So what was your game plan tonight, Cabot? Get me drunk and take advantage because that's really inappropriate considering…"

"Look at that. You can be mean too." Alex looked slightly embarrassed, "My plan was to feel you out and the drinks were mostly so I could build up my balls. I didn't think you'd be such a pushover and keep drinking too. After that, I hadn't formulated much of a plan…a night of awkward sex that ruins our professional relationship, I guess."

Casey laughed boldly and nearly spit her beer all over the table.

"And now you're laughing at me…" Alex crossed her arms, "I heard you might maybe be interested and also heard it might do you some good too…improve your spirits or something. I find you intriguing and intelligent, and I completely misread you, had too much to drink, and now I feel awful."

"I want to know who told you. Who would think that?" Casey finally calmed herself.

"I'm not telling."

…

Alex placed her hand on the small of Casey's back, guiding her outside into the cool spring air. Cabot wavered a good bit and Casey clearly should have been supporting her, rather than the other way around. She hailed a cab and then muttered, "Whoa, Casey. I think when I stood up that last time, all of the beer shifted and now I'm actually legitimately drunk."

"I hope no one sees us like this," Casey laughed and gripped her briefcase tightly and kept her jacket draped over the same arm. She moved around and placed her other arm around Alex's shoulders, nudging her into the cab first before sliding in next to her. She told the cabby her address and they quickly pulled away from the curb.

Alex blinked slowly and deliberately, "I thought I was embarrassed before, coming onto you and all, but I think being wasted off my ass in front of you actually takes the cake. This really isn't like me. Shit…I usually don't need to drink so much to try to sleep with someone either…"

"Don't be silly. Embarrassed isn't one of your feelings, Cabot."

"It is!"

"I'm not sure how you're going to keep me safe from my potential stalker tonight."

"Fuck…Elliot probably didn't think I would be this drunk," she leaned her head back and rested it on the back of the seat, "Fuck this ceiling."

Casey laughed at her again now, "I thought I was drunk, but I think you are more drunk."

"Oh well…I only do this like once a year." She looked over at her and smiled, "Don't tell anyone. I think I would lose badass points and everyone would think I was Sonya Paxton Part Two."

"You're still badass. You're still more eloquent than I am, even after ten thousand fucking beers."

"True."

Casey laughed and without thinking slipped her hand into Alex's. The other woman looked down and then back up at Casey, feeling much the same feelings Casey had felt earlier.

"You really are socially inept," she grinned.

"Are you seriously just going to insult me now?"

She shook her head and adjusted her glasses, "No. Your mixed signals are confusing me though. I'm really not sure how to interpret this."

"I was just trying to be supportive."

"Oh…oh, that's what you were trying to convey." Alex had become suddenly sarcastic, her tone shifting immediately.

Casey pulled her hand away.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm just on a roll tonight, aren't I?"

"It's fine, we're almost to my place." She rummaged through her briefcase and looked at the meter. She handed the man in the front a few bills and opened the door. She waited for Alex to squirm unsteadily out and onto the sidewalk before putting her arm around her, "Let's get inside and start re-hydrating."

"Excellent plan, Novak. Sustained."

Casey fumbled with her key to get into the lobby and finally managed to get the door open. Drunk people taking care of drunk people was never the best plan. They eventually made it in and to the elevator with Alex tripping up on her high heels several times. Finally, what felt like hours later, they got inside of Casey's apartment.

Alex kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the nearest piece of furniture, an overstuffed chair. Casey dropped her briefcase and jacket onto the floor nearby and then stumbled into the kitchen for glasses of water. Alex looked around the immaculate and almost sterile apartment. Everything was perfectly matched and perfectly in place. Everything obviously had a place. She could tell, even though Casey didn't bother turning on a light.

"Casey!" Alex yelled, "Why don't you try being impulsive sometime?"

"What're you talking about?" She called back from the refrigerator.

"Do something without thinking about the consequences? I mean…you talk without thinking about it sometimes, but ultimately…you are so methodical and organized." Alex flicked a coaster off of the table.

"Hey, don't do that."

She ignored her and flicked another coaster from the stack.

"You're going to need one of those to sit your water on," Casey said handing her the perspiring glass.

"I'm sitting my glass on your damn table, Novak." Then she did so.

Casey stood there and her jaw dropped, "Why would you do that? It's going to leave a ring. Do you know how hard those are to remove?"

Alex looked up at her and made a face just begging Casey to say something else about it. She was Alex Cabot. She was drunk, but she was still a magical bitch.

Without weighing her options Casey sat her glass down on the table and latched on to the collar of Alex's shirt. She pulled her face close to hers and their lips met. Alex hesitated for a moment, out of surprise and also because the alcohol had slowed her reaction time, but then she grabbed Casey's waist and pulled her down on top of her.


	7. Chapter Six

**_A/N: _**_This is the slowest paced thing I have ever written. This is what I get for not having a plan when I start a new story. Maybe there will be some intense drama soon! CHUNG CHUNG!_

**Chapter Six**

Casey awoke to her buzzing phone alarm at 4:30. How long had she slept? Maybe three hours. Her blurred vision was coupled with the smell of coffee. Coffee? Who made coffee? Her mind wandered back over the series of events leading up to the present. She blinked and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before checking to see if she had clothes on. She did, her pajamas, even – that was a good sign, but she didn't remember putting them on. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginning of a headache. Everything following her getting into the cab was a blur. She had bits of information, but she couldn't be sure they were actual events. She didn't know what to do with her hands and then there were some bad cuddles.

Sitting up, she saw a sliver of light entering her bedroom door, coming from elsewhere in the apartment. The sun was not up yet. She strained to listen and heard the news on her TV in the living room. It was on a very low volume, barely audible, probably so not to disturb her.

She knew she'd have to get out of her bed, and that it would have to be sooner rather than later. She needed to shower and to go into her office. There was paperwork to finish and an arraignment that afternoon. She looked at the empty spot next to her, which had either been slept in or she thrashed around a lot. Bad cuddles. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and took every step deliberately. She pulled her bedroom door open and looked out into the living room. TV definitely on…coffee…

Rubbing her head again and then padding across the room, she saw her coffee pot about half full, and two mugs next to it. Two. But there was no sign of life, aside from herself. She poured a cup and noted that it was very hot – fresh. She drank it black, sipping it slowly, while her eyes wandered around her apartment. They stopped on the bathroom. The door was closed and the light was on.

She stood there, as still as she could while still drinking her coffee. She watched that door, waiting. She sipped her coffee and processed. She wasn't sure what to do. Nothing was happening in the correct order. She absently reached up and touched her lips. They felt a little chapped. Her brow furrowed. She kept staring at the door.

It opened and out stepped Alexandra Cabot. Her hair was damp, and she still rubbed it with a towel. She wore the same clothes as she had on the night before, but she appeared to have ironed them at some point.

Casey didn't move. If she didn't move, perhaps Cabot wouldn't see her.

Alex looked up and smiled, "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed this towel. I found it in your pantry. I'll wash it if you want."

"No. That's what it's here for. Just put it in the laundry room in the basket."

She nodded.

Sitting her mug down on the counter, Casey moved toward the bathroom. She reached the doorway and turned, "Did we…um…"

"Hm?" Alex perked up as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Did we…what did we do last night?"

"Oh," she cleared her throat, "Nothing much. Don't worry."

Casey's brow wrinkled again and she disappeared into her bathroom. When she emerged, Alex was sitting on the couch with her coffee, watching the news, leaning forward very interested in whatever they were covering.

"How much do I owe you for the cab last night? I said I'd pay, but then I didn't. I'll cover your cab to work if you want." The blonde said, not looking away from the television.

"Don't worry about it…" Casey answered flatly and retrieved her coffee. She topped off the lukewarm liquid with more hot and it evened out. She remained in the kitchen and looked out of the blinds at the street still illuminated by lights…a few cars drove by, and a couple people were jogging, another was walking a dog.

"Novak," Alex spoke less casually now, and Casey turned, unable to refuse, "I apologize for last night. Nothing happened, really. We kissed, there was some awkward flailing, and then you insisted upon putting on your pajamas and going to bed. You set your alarm. We went to bed. You're terrible at cuddling." Casey's eyes were wide, and Alex continued speaking firmly, "Yes, we shared your bed. We cuddled and you fell asleep. I only slept for about an hour because my body has no idea what's going on."

"It's fine," she said.

"You're mad. Why are you mad?" The blonde sat her coffee down on the table.

"I'm not." Casey tried as hard as she could to act nonchalant, but it resulted in her just moving stiffly and drinking her coffee in slow-motion.

Alex looked at her over the top of her glasses like Munch was known to do, "What's going on?"

"I need to get dressed," she tightened the belt of her bathrobe and sat her coffee mug down again and then walked past Alex and into her room where she shut the door.

This left Alex sitting on the couch incredibly confused. She wasn't sure what she had done wrong or why this morning was turning out to be so awkward when nothing happened – at least not according to her definition of nothing. She had been feeling remarkably ok with the whole thing until now. From what she knew of Casey Novak, the woman was competent, methodical, and ridiculously organized…a little bizarre in the social department, but...that was it! Alex realized she had probably messed up her routine and thrown off Casey's entire system, her morning rituals, and probably subsequently inadvertently ruined her day. That had to be what was going on, it was the only possible solution. It probably would have been better for her to sneak out when she woke up at 3 in the morning.

Casey stared into her closet and thought much the same things. She wasn't mad at Alex, and knowing they had not in fact had a night of passion and ridiculous lesbian sex was a relief, but she didn't know how to communicate that. From what she remembered, she had a relatively good time, minus her inability to properly cuddle, and there didn't seem to be anything she had forgotten that would come back to haunt her. She owed Alex an apology now for being incompetent interacting with people outside of a work setting.

She pulled on a pair of pants and then buttoned up a pressed shirt. She went back out into the living room and found it deserted and the TV off.

"Alex?"

No answer. Her stomach turned a bit when she accepted the other woman had left, probably thinking she was angry when she really wasn't. She was just confused. She found that Alex had put her cup in the dishwasher and on the counter she left two twenty dollar bills and scribbled on a napkin.

_I figure this is what I owe for the cab last night. Sorry._

Casey ran her finger along the edge of the thin white paper and felt like shit, partially due to the amount of drinks the night before. She looked at the coffee pot and it occurred to her that she didn't even thank the woman for exerting the effort to make her coffee. She was raised far better than that, but hell if she didn't fail at communicating anything correctly this morning. She grabbed a travel mug from the cabinet and transferred the remainder of the coffee into it before grabbing her briefcase and heading out the door.

…

Casey's office phone rang and she pressed the speaker phone button, "Novak."

"This is Pete at the front desk. You have a flower delivery."

She chewed on the end of her pen, "Is it a legit flower person? I'm not looking to have my ass kicked in my office today, Pete."

"He's legit. He's from the florist three blocks up. He comes here all the time. Should I send him up?"

"Yeah, go ahead," and she hung up wondering who the hell would be sending her flowers now.

The man arrived with the bunch of flowers a few minutes later. She thanked him and bade him farewell and then sat them on her desk. She admittedly didn't know shit about flowers. They were pretty, she supposed. They smelled ok. They'd die in a few days and end up in her trash. The vase was nice though; she'd keep the vase. She rummaged through the foliage to find the little card. It was plain and cream colored – not very interesting.

She flipped it open and read:

_You seem like someone who doesn't care for flowers. I have sent these out of spite and if your office is anything like your apartment, it probably needs a bit of color. I'm profoundly sorry about last night/this morning (and now for insulting your interior decorating skills). Forgive me?_

It wasn't signed, but she was reasonably certain of the sender. The small and neat handwriting matched the note on the napkin that she left sitting on her counter. She tried to resist the little chuckle that she emitted as she tucked the card back into the stems and leaves. She situated the flowers on the corner of her desk, and then went back to work. She felt better knowing Alex Cabot didn't hate her.

…

Toward the end of the day, Casey heard a knock at her door. She looked up to see Elliot peaking through her blinds. She motioned for him to come in, taking only a split-second break from her furious typing.

"Any more calls?" He asked.

"Nope. They didn't start last night until close to one. It may have just been someone equally drunk who just couldn't dial the correct number, actually."

"Want me to send a uni to your apartment?"

"God, no." She stopped and looked at him, baffled as to why everyone was so concerned. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Detective Stabler was not convinced, but he dropped it for the time being. "Who sent you flowers?"

Casey looked at the flowers for a moment and then said, "No one important."

"Really?"

"Really," she answered. "Did you trace the calls to my phone?"

He started over closer toward her desk, "Where's the card?"

She slapped his hand, "Mind your business. Did you trace the calls?"

"Are they from your stalker?"

"Jesus Christ. I may not even have a stalker. I was drunk and paranoid last night."

"Do you have a secret admirer?"

She glared as menacingly as she could during the silly exchange and then she lied, "They're thank you flowers if you really need to know."

"Fine," he accepted it and started back for the door. "Only one of the calls was long enough for us to trace and it was from a burn phone, calling from about three blocks from here, so if anything else happens, and I mean anything, you let me know immediately, alright? I'm sure it has to do with Borden."

"Alright."

"How late are you working tonight?"

She looked at her computer, "I don't know. Not much longer. I think I'm taking things home tonight so I can work in comfortable clothes."

"Ok." He nodded and opened the door, "We've got Munch figuring out where the phone came from and going from there, but we've got nothing yet. Most of our resources are going toward the girl in the stairwell case."

She nodded, understanding – that case was far more important than some stupid crank calls. She still didn't want to talk about that damn case until she absolutely needed to. Before Stabler made it out, she called after him, "Hey, El…what were you doing at the station last night?"

"Oh, Liv wanted to work on the case some more and I decided to help her out."

Casey nodded skeptically and then asked, "Do you know where Alex is today?"

Elliot squinted at her, "No. She just said she had a meeting. I'm guessing at Immigration, but she didn't say." He paused and then asked, "Why?"

As she watched his face, she became certain that he's who began the speculation about her sexuality, but it wasn't the time to test the theory. "She left something at my apartment last night and I was going to return it."

"She stayed at your place?" He watched her too, and the situation became some sort of standoff as each waited for the other to commit some subtle error.

"Yeah. She thought I was going to be shot. She's almost as worried about this as you are."

He laughed a bit, "Alright, Novak. She and I have both been shot, remember?"

Not more than a minute after the door closed behind him, Casey's fax machine sprang to life. She glared at the device. She wasn't expecting a fax and assumed it to be some sort of stupid advertisement spam or irrelevant coupons – that's all she got out of it. It was a waste of paper really, and it seemed that her fax number had been mixed up with the Hilton's and she kept getting credit card authorization forms that she then had to forward along.

Once it finished making noise and spat out the sheet, she got up to investigate.

"Fuck…" She said and sat it on her desk. She immediately reached for her cell phone and dialed Elliot, "Hey, come back," she said. "I got a weird fax. Don't freak out. It may not even be related, but it's still weird."

"Be right there," he said and he appeared in her office again only a moment later.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"Lock your door," Olivia advised Casey after walking her up to her apartment, and having driven her there from the DA's office.

"This really wasn't necessary." Casey unlocked her door and Olivia pushed her way past to make sure no one was inside. Casey sighed, "Seriously. Not necessary. Especially when you just had another body turn up. Someone is gouging out little girls' eyes and everyone is worried about me getting weird phone calls and faxes."

"It's clear," Olivia reassured her.

"I really doubted it wouldn't be…" She tossed her briefcase down onto the couch.

"What's this note on your counter?" Asked Olivia from the kitchen.

Becoming immediately flustered, Casey paraded in, snatched the napkin from her hand and threw it into the trash under the sink. "Alex left this morning and owed me some money for a cab."

"Alex stayed here?"

"Yes," Casey snapped, "Why is that so interesting to everyone?"

Olivia shrugged, "I just didn't know you two were friends."

"Neither did I. Now I really need to get some work done and you have a case to investigate."

The detective nodded, "Call us if anything else happens, and I mean _anything_."

Casey ushered her out of the door, "I will. Thanks, Liv. Have a good night."

"Are you sure you don't want us to send a-"

"Yes, don't send anyone. I'm fine." She interrupted her and then closed the door.

Olivia waited in the hall until she heard both latches click. As she exited the elevator downstairs, her phone began to ring. It was Elliot. She answered, "What's up?"

"How's Novak?" He questioned.

"She's Novak. She still didn't want a uni." She changed the subject, "Am I meeting you at the scene or the house?"

"The house. We'll be wrapping up here soon. I just wanted to tell you we've IDed the body." Before she could ask who it was, he said, "Lindsey Borden."

"Are you serious? Jordan Borden's daughter?"

"Exactly, and get this…" He inserted a dramatic pause, "Warner says her sexual abuse was likely more prolonged."

Olivia gasped as she got into her car, "Was that bastard molesting his own daughter?"

"We thought it was only her friends. She never mentioned being assaulted herself. I'm really not sure what's going on here, but Fin is headed to Burkett's to see if he got past his surveillance somehow." Elliot's temper was rising as he thought about the victims from both cases, which were now overlapping. He looked down at his phone and then said, "Shit, Fin's calling already. I'll see you in a little while."

"Bye, El…" Olivia sat in her car for a moment, feeling a little shaken by the news. She thought she should perhaps call Casey, but then she decided against it and started back toward the precinct, shaking her head in disgust at what was starting to look like serial child-rapist and killer.

…

When Fin arrived at Karl Burkett's not long before, he found a flood of police cars with their lights flashing and an ambulance. Their main suspect was being loaded onto the bus. He hurried out of his car before it had come to a complete stop and then approached the nearest officer. He flashed his badge and asked, "What the hell is goin' on here?"

"A guy went into Burkett's and beat the hell out of him," responded the man.

"Who was it?" Fin questioned and surveyed the scene.

"That man over there," he pointed.

"Son of a bitch…" Fin muttered, locking eyes with Amelia Francis' father, Richard. Two men were trying to hold him back. He had a busted lip, but Burkett had definitely come out the worst of the two. Looking back at the officer, Fin said, "We had a guy on Burkett, where'd he go?"

"Not sure. I just saw him. He's who called for back-up because he couldn't get that other fella off of Burkett alone."

"When did this shit go down?"

"From what I know," he nodded toward Francis, "That guy drove by a few times like he was casing the place. I guess trying to figure out if Burkett was home. The fifth time, he stopped, and went in. Burkett just let him right in. Your boy who was on Burkett followed and then had a hell of a time breaking up the fight. This was about an hour ago."

"You know if Burkett left at all before that?"

He shook his head, "Not that I know of."

"I'm gonna go talk to Francis over there…" Fin grumbled.

Francis was livid and still filled with rage, trying to pull away from the two officer's holding him back. He gave one a firm elbow to the jaw, but the man didn't let him go. He was still trying to get at Burkett, who was being hauled off on the ambulance. "That fucker killed my daughter!" He kept screaming, "He was my fucking college buddy and he killed my God damn daughter!"

…

"We've got two victims and Burkett is not our man," Cragen paced and talked to himself. "I guess he really did drop Amelia off at her father's, and someone must've picked her up then."

"But who?" Fin asked.

"What's the connection between Lindsey Borden and Amelia Francis?" Munch pondered.

"There's a big age difference…" Olivia pointed out.

Dr. Huang stood nearby with his arms crossed. He examined the crime scene images, comparing the two bodies. The second victim was found between two dumpsters behind a restaurant. She was propped up, sitting on her knees, with her hands in her lap, and her face pointing upward. The bloody tears streaked her face and stained her shirt, which was riddled with holes and other spots of blood. She had no defensive wounds and her hands and feet had been bound. "This seems almost ritualistic," he said, "Maybe a cult?"

"A cult? A child-raping, eye-gouging cult?" Elliot was aghast.

Warner appeared in the group, clutching a file of papers. She immediately inserted herself into the conversation, "I'm almost certain that the first victim's death was an accident. Borden though…she died from a very precise slicing of her jugular vein."

Huang spoke up again, "She had served her purpose, so the perp finished her off."

"Exactly. I also found evidence that she had been suffering from abuse for the last several years. There are healed breaks in her ribs, as well as completely healed scars, and some injuries that were just beginning to scab. It looks like she may have been exposed to this torture every few months."

"How did no one notice this?" Cragen yelled at his detectives, accusingly. All of them had spoken to her for the Borden trial.

"Each wound was deliberately placed, so not to be visible," Warner answered before the captain could continue to shout. "The older ones were mainly on her back and upper thighs."

"So technically…"Olivia pondered, "Amelia wasn't actually the first victim."

Warner nodded, "She was just the first our guy messed up on."

"Let's look at the dad. Let's look at that piece of shit Jordan Borden." Elliot slammed his fist on the nearest desk.

"El, calm down," Munch spoke soothingly. "Let's think for a minute. Mr. Borden only showed signs of sexual proclivity and not so much violence."

"Did you find any DNA on her?" Fin asked the M.E.

Dejectedly, she shook her head, "Same as the first victim. This man is meticulous and painfully so, but…" She handed the file over to Cragen, "Another thing that was different with Borden…the eyes. I compared the wounds to the eyes…" She waited to make sure that everyone was listening and then cleared her throat. "It looks like two different objects were used and additionally Borden's eyes were removed _before_ her vein was cut. With the first victim, it looks like the perp realized what he had done and then taken her eyes. There was far more blood lost from Borden's eyes."

There was a moment of silence as this information set in – the girls eyes were removed while she was still alive. Munch broke the silence, "I'd say that it was a copycat, but we didn't release that gruesome detail…"

Everyone mumbled and agreement and continued to mill around. Huang looked toward Melinda inquisitively, "How long was the second victim dead?"

"Around three hours…just like the first, so she died around four this afternoon. She definitely wasn't killed where she was found. Again, there wasn't enough blood. She had almost been completely bled dry, so I'm fairly certain the body was dumped basically right before it was found."

The psychiatrist cringed as she spoke so candidly about such grisly facts. He nodded, "Someone may have seen something."

"Benson, Stabler," Cragen addressed them, "Get out there. Canvas everyone." He rubbed his wrinkled forehead and then looked toward the two doctors, "Anything else useful?"

Huang stepped up as the two lead detectives headed out of the squad room without protest, "This guy _wants_ people to see his victims. He wants them to see what he's done to their bodies and to their faces. He's making some sort of statement, and I'd guess that the first was posed the same as the second before the body was tampered with." Pointing toward the gory pictures on the evidence board, "It's almost like…art."

"Art!" Warner scoffed and then disappeared just as she had appeared.

Cragen looked toward Fin and Munch, "You two, go talk to Mr. Borden and ex-Mrs. Borden. Now."

They nodded and as Munch walked toward his desk, he stopped in his tracks, frozen in thought.

"What is it?" His partner noticed his odd behavior.

"The fax Casey received…"

"What about it?" Fin went to his desk, but realized he didn't have his trusty leather jacket, "Speakin' of Novak…woman's got my damn jacket."

"Wait. What did it say? The fax."

"Something about eyes…are you thinkin' it's connected too? Coincidence, Munch." Fin grabbed a paper from his desk, "I've got my copy right here."

Munch took it and said, "Think about it. Borden threatened her. Borden's daughter was killed. The eyes, Fin." He continued his rant and pointed at his own eyes, "It says 'Do either of your eyes offend you?' Do you know what that references?" He shook the paper at the shorter man, who shrugged. "The Bible."

"You're Jewish," he shrugged another time. "Let's go."

Munch sighed, "Maybe it is a coincidence." He tossed the paper onto his own desk and said, "I need to do some research, but I bet I'm right."

"Man," Fin began as they walked out, "You can find a quote for anything in the Bible. When in doubt about some saying, say it's from the Bible. You're thinkin' about it too much."

Meanwhile, Casey sat at her desk in her apartment. She set up her laptop and turned on a single desk lamp to illuminate the documents she brought home. She sipped at her cup of coffee and popped a potato chip into her mouth every now and again.

It hit her suddenly that her stupid ass left Fin's jacket at the bar. She meant to return that to him today, but had completely forgotten and not even brought it home with her. Fin was one of the only people she was sure still liked her too. Quickly, she looked up the number and called. The bartender she was rather familiar with answered and she said, "Hey, it's Casey Novak. I think one of the SVU detectives left his leather jacket at a table last night."

"Tutuola's leather jacket? Yeah. We've got it here," he told her.

"Thank God. Can I come get it? I want to take it to him. I'm an awful person."

"I'm working until close tonight, so you can come get it any time."

After she hung up, she quickly yanked on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Grabbing her keys she headed out the door.

_**A/N: **Insert a CHUNG CHUNG here._


	9. Chapter Eight

**_A/N: _**_Thanks for all of the reviews so far!_

Chapter Eight

It didn't even cross Casey's mind that maybe, just maybe, she should have stayed in her apartment with the doors locked like Olivia said. She didn't even bother grabbing her phone. All she could think about was returning Fin's jacket to ensure that he didn't like her any less. She grabbed her wallet and her keys and that was it.

She rode the elevator down and then hurried through the lobby. Her plan was to get his jacket and then take it to the precinct and then go straight home – mainly because she had work to do, not because she was concerned about Borden taking her down a notch. It was a harmless plan. Her stalker, if she even had one, would probably expect her to be either at home or in her office. She doubted she even had a stalker. Everyone was just on edge from the fucked up case they were working.

Reaching the entrance she rushed out of the door and almost took down a woman coming up the steps. It was probably one of her neighbors she'd never met in all the years she lived there. She kept going and quickly muttered, "Excuse me."

"Novak?"

She spun around just before she was about to raise her arm to hail a cab.

Alex fucking Cabot walked down the steps toward her, "What're you doing? You're supposed to stay in your apartment."

Casey looked at the woman, confused. She asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Ah…about that…" She stammered. She'd been lurking outside of the apartment building thinking about hitting the button to buzz Casey's for about twenty minutes when the redhead almost took her out with the door. She had come straight from her meeting and still wore her striking khaki suit and clutched her own briefcase. She was back to being the professional and serious Alex Cabot that Casey had put on a colleague pedestal.

"Did Elliot and Liv send you to make sure I didn't go anywhere," Casey shook her head in disbelief. "I left Fin's damn jacket at the bar last night and I need to go get it." She went to the edge of the sidewalk to call for a cab.

"I'll come with you," Alex offered herself up immediately and joined her on the curb. Only after she spoke did she realize she had probably seemed too eager.

This caused Casey to raise an eyebrow. She figured Cabot must have something better to do, "Ok…"

"Fin's going to kill you," the blonde laughed as a taxi pulled up to them. Casey looked distraught as they both climbed into the backseat. "I'm kidding," she said then.

"Not funny," Casey said and then directed the cabby.

Alex made a puzzled face, "Are you on edge because of what happened today?"

"What?" She asked, but then realized what the other woman referred to, "Oh. That. No, I just want to return Fin's jacket and then get back to work."

"I don't suppose you'd be up for dinner then…"

Casey looked her over and then said, "Wait…would it be a…date?"

"God, no. It's just dinner. Don't you go to dinner?" Alex elbowed her, jokingly. "Or do you have too much work to do? It's on me...to make up for last night."

"I mean…I do need to have dinner and I have work. I normally don't mind being cooped up in my apartment, but being told that I should stay there sort of makes me not want to."

"So that's a yes?"

"I guess so…" She was beginning to accept her utter inability to refuse.

"Nothing fancy. Just a quick dinner and I'll make sure you get home ok."

"God, everyone is so worried about me," she rolled her eyes.

"Liv told me about the fax."

"It was silly! It was weird, yes. I'm sure it was meant for someone else. I get faxes for other people all the time."

"It was sent from a Kinko's without a coversheet and paid for with cash."

"So? Lots of people do that." Then she looked down at her wallet and her keys, "Aw, crap. I forgot my phone."

"You're on a roll forgetting things. I hope no one tries to call you."

…

Fin and Munch plodded back into the precinct, and Fin was going on about his jacket, "Maybe Novak doesn't have it. Maybe Cabot picked it up. I hope one of them women has it. I hope no one stole it. I would steal it if I saw it layin' there alone and abandoned."

"Look, Fin," Munch pointed, "Maybe it was there the whole time."

"Nah, man. It wasn't." Fun rushed over to his desk where his jacket was on the back of his chair like he usually left it. He picked it up and clutched it with both of his fists. A yellow post-it tumbled off. Picking up the note, he said, "Casey had it."

"She must've come by to drop it off while we were gone, which means…" Munch's voice trailed off.

"That damn stubborn woman left her apartment." Fin completed his partner's sentence.

"Right."

"She's impossible," Fin stared at his jacket longingly like it was some lost love, not really concerned with Casey's safety.

"Hopefully she made it back alright."

"I'm sure she did. Let's go talk to the boss."

"Wait. I want to look something up." The older man sat down in his chair and pulled up Google on the old PC in front of him, still thinking about the fax the ADA received.

"Alright. We'll I'll go talk to the boss." Detective Tutuola left his partner and took his jacket with him into Captain Cragen's office. He was never going to let it go again.

Cragen looked up and had a hint of desperation in his eyes, "Anything?"

"Borden had a solid alibi. We even checked it out. He had gone out for drinks after work with some of his co-workers. He was accounted for the whole time. He was pretty messed up about the whole thing, blamed his ex-wife for it, since she was supposed to be with her and all…suing for full-custody. He said that the continued abuse probably happened on her watch because it would never have happened when she was with him. He said it was probably one of her boyfriends and insinuated that she had a bunch, but he didn't have any of their names. Did he come by here?"

Cragen shook his head, "The ex did though, Ms. Frederick. She IDed the body."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah. I actually just got her out of here. She blamed Borden. Pretty much for everything, and said that he was probably our perp."

"Exactly what she told us…"

Munch burst through the door, "We need to call Novak."

"You need a warrant for something?" Cragen asked him, looking startled by his entrance.

"No. No. The fax she got was a reference to Matthew 5:29."

Fin and Cragen both looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"And if your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you, for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell." He quoted the scripture and then shook the copy of the fax around vehemently. "Do either of your eyes offend you?"

"Wait…what?" Fin questioned.

Cragen looked at him curiously, "The only connection we have between Borden and our killer is that Borden's daughter was a victim."

"I don't think Borden would have someone creep on Casey who has been torturing and then killed his own kid," Fin added. "You saw how he flipped his shit when we told him."

Munch insisted, "We should at least call her to make sure she made it home alright,"

"She did. Liv took her home," Cragen told him.

"I know, but she left, came here, and dropped off Fin's jacket."

Fin held it up to show the Captain.

"How did I miss her?"

"You were probably dealin' with Borden's ex-wife at the time," Fin shrugged.

"Alright. I'll give her a call," agreed Cragen.

…

"Judge Clark told me about the time she was out having dinner with you and you began shouting about a perp's penis at the table," Alex grinned, as the two sat across from each other in the restaurant.

"Oh, God…" Casey rolled her eyes, "Haven't you ever done anything awkward? Just once?"

"No." She answered flatly and sipped her wine.

"You did hang out in a holding cell with Miranda Pond."

"That was on principle. Pond isn't a complete bitch either. She has scruples unlike Kressler."

"I like her hair."

"I know, right! Mine is so flat and boring, won't hold curls for my life."

They laughed and Casey picked at the rolls the waitress had left on their table. Alex was now embodying the image she had of her in her head – looking professional and drinking wine, although they were at a low-end Italian place with plastic tablecloths and pre-made rolls that had obviously been reheated. Casey refused to go anywhere else since she was in jeans.

Alex asked then, "Would you be terribly offended if this were a date?"

"I'd like to think you'd take me somewhere better than this on a date," Casey answered being snarky, but then she realized Alex was serious. Then she panicked, "Oh, no. _Is_ this is a date? Did you mean for this to be a date? Were you joking earlier?"

"No, no. I would definitely take you somewhere nicer if I were to take you out on a date. This is just dinner because I feel terrible about last night."

"Thank God," Casey sighed as the waitress brought out their food. She clasped at her chest melodramatically.

Alex nodded a thanks to the girl and then picked up her fork. She shook it at the other woman, "Are you relieved because this isn't a date, or are you relieved because I wouldn't take you here on a date?"

She paused, "Good question. Let me think about it over dinner and another glass of wine."

"If this were a date, I'd pour it for you," Alex pointed out and with a slight laugh, began to cut into her steak.

"At least this wine isn't terrible," Casey picked up the bottle from the center of the table and poured a bit more into her glass.

"It's the most expensive bottle on the menu is why."

They had opted to split a bottle of wine between the two of them and call it quits after that in order to prevent another debacle like the one from the night before. They planned to each go their separate ways – Casey to her apartment and Alex to her hotel room. There would be no awkward attempts at making out or cuddling.

"Any idea what was going on at the precinct?" Alex asked her.

She shrugged, "I assume it was because of the girl in the stairwell case, but I thought I saw Ms. Frederick…Borden's ex-wife…the guy-"

"The guy who threatened you, yeah."

"I don't know what she was doing there. You should've just asked Cragen. He likes you."

"He likes you too."

"But he likes you more."

"You're ridiculous, Novak. Eat your dinner."

…

Meanwhile at the precinct, shit was hitting the fan. Benson and Stabler came back with absolutely no useful information, just like with the first murder. They concluded that the perp knew what time people at the restaurant took out the trash and what times the severs went on smoke breaks. They apparently dropped and posed the body exactly between when people were around the dumpsters. No one saw a damn thing.

There were no leads and their only suspect was no longer even a consideration. On top of all of that, no one knew where their ADA had gone. She wasn't answering her phone, and Elliot went to her apartment to find no sign of her.

"I knew we should have sent a uni," Olivia kept muttered and pacing.

"Relax. We don't know if her fax is related to this shit," Elliot kept telling her.

Then she would say, "But Borden still threatened her and now no one knows where she is."

"We'll find her," he reassured the woman, but really he was just as uneasy about the whole thing as she was. It was unnerving that Casey received a fax referencing eyes being removed and they were working on a case where girls' eyes were removed.

Fin had put his jacket on and joined them in the pacing, "Maybe…Borden's kid got gotten because of that fax Casey got."

"Huh?" Olivia asked him.

"I don't know…I just makin' a suggestion."

"We'll find her," Cragen said, "Everyone go home for the night. There's nothing more anyone can do here."

"I'm going to Casey's to wait," Olivia said, snatching up her keys and heading for the door.


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Alex fiddled around with the handle of her briefcase as she sat in the back of the taxi with Casey. "You sure you're ok tonight?" She asked. "I really don't mi-"

"I'll be fine," Casey persisted. "You didn't even need to ride with me back."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure," but then her tone changed as the driver slowed down and pulled toward the curb, "What the hell is Liv doing here? I told her I didn't need a uni, much less a detective stationed outside of my damn apartment."

Alex handed the money to the man before Casey had a chance to protest.

"You didn't have to…" Casey gave up quickly and just groaned before getting out of the cab. There was no point in arguing with Cabot and she was more concerned as to why Detective Benson was posted up outside of her building.

Sending the cabby on, Alex followed her out of the car as well.

Casey whirled around, "What are you doing? Go home."

Olivia, spotting the ADA, got out of her car, looking absolutely livid.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

The brunette didn't answer and instead asked her own question, "Where have you been?"

"I took Fin his jacket and I had dinner with Alex, she motioned over her shoulder at the other woman.

"Why haven't you answered your phone? We've tried to call you at least thirty times." Olivia looked at her accusingly.

"I forgot it and I was only gone for a couple hours. I didn't anticipate any of you needing anything in that little span of time." She was about to ask what it was that they needed from her so urgently, but Alex stepped forward.

"Liv, I'm sorry," she began, "It was my fault. I talked her into dinner and didn't think to let her go back for her phone. I was with her the whole time, so no harm no foul, right?"

Olivia stood there steaming on the sidewalk, "Cabot, you are well aware of the situation, and as a public defender yourself, you should be aware that we may have needed to get in contact with her, no matter how short of an errand she were running. What if we had needed a warrant?"

Alex looked a bit taken aback by Olivia raising her voice at her, but she was mainly startled she had referred to her as Cabot, since they had been on a first name basis for some time now.

"What do you need from me, if not a warrant? Did you get a confession from someone, or what?" Casey asked.

"Actually, no. How about we talk about this inside," Olivia indicated toward the door.

"Fine. Come in." Casey bitterly invited her in and then looked at Alex, "You, go home."

"Are you sure-"

"Thanks for dinner, now go."

"You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

Olivia tightened her lips and watched the exchange quietly.

"Whether or not you were relieved because it wasn't a-"

Casey cut her off, feeling embarrassed in front of Olivia, "Oh God. _That_. It doesn't matter. Have a good night, Cabot."

"And you have a good night too, Novak. Sorry again, Liv." She shrugged and turned toward the street as the other two women went inside. Hailing another cab, she looked pensive. She arrived back at her hotel a while later. The ride to lower Manhattan seemed substantially longer when she didn't have anyone to talk to aside from the stern driver who kept his eyes firmly on the road.

As she passed through the lobby of the hotel, the front desk attendant greeted her. At some point in her career, she had become someone vaguely important. People recognized her from the news and the clerk of the hotel was either very good with names or was one of those people. She'd be a frequent guest at this place soon enough with her work, shuffling her between New York and DC.

When she approached the elevator, she circled back and went to the desk to formally introduce herself to the attendant, feeling guilty for not doing so sooner.

"Can I help you, Miss Cabot?" He asked and checked himself to make sure his vest and his tie were straight.

She looked at his nametag, "Clark. It's nice to meet you. I figured I might as well get to know all of you since I'm going to be in and out of here a lot over the next few months. I don't want to seem unpleasant."

"Has everything been to your liking so far?"

"Yes, of course. I like to think I'm relatively low maintenance. Thank you."

"My pleasure," he responded like an automaton, and she was sure he'd been conditioned to say that whenever someone said a word of thanks.

She smiled slightly, "Have a good night, Clark."

"Goodnight, Miss Cabot, let us know if you need anything."

She nodded and then made her way back to the elevator. Clark the clerk. She laughed to herself as she pressed the button. She rode up to the third floor and took a right. Digging a keycard out of her jacket, she unlocked and then pushed open her door. She closed and locked it behind her and began her evening routine. She had a routine, but was a good deal more flexible than Casey. She sat her briefcase by her desk and then ventured into the bathroom for a shower.

She hadn't planned on spending the evening alone, but she would have to make due. She shoved her clothes for the day into a dry cleaning bag to drop off at the desk in the morning, at which point she had decided she would introduce herself to whomever was working at that time. The housekeepers had replaced her towels and bathrobe with fresh ones. That was something she liked about hotels – she didn't have to engage in any of the mundane chores of having her own place.

When she pulled back the curtain, her ears perked to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She trotted out to grab it from her desk and noted that the number was unavailable.

"Cabot," she answered.

There was only silence on the other end.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

She hung up and then plugged the phone in to charge. The calls Casey received crossed her mind, but not enough to deter her from her shower. If it happened more than once, she would be concerned. How the hell would someone get her number anyway? She had a new once since she was back in the States, and had only bothered to give it to Elliot and Olivia. That phone was only for personal use, and it was probably someone's number before, or at the very least, highly similar.

Regardless, she double-checked that she had locked the door before she got into the shower.

…

Casey refused to believe that there was any sort of connection between the odd annoyances she was experiencing and whoever was gouging out girls' eyes. The fact that Borden's daughter, whom she had gotten to know very well during the trail, was a victim only disturbed her because she had known the girl, not because of it connecting the cases.

"Fine," the ADA gave in, "Send a patrol car here, but you need to get some rest. I heard you slept at the station last night."

Olivia looked at her wondering how she knew, and she concluded that it must've been Elliot. "And Alex came home with you."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean? I really don't understand you peoples' interest in it." Casey snarled a bit, starting a small pot of coffee so that she'd have the energy to finish what she was working on.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised is all."

"We've been over this already." She turned and rested her back on the edge of the counter.

"And you had dinner tonight."

"So?" Casey crossed her arms. "We just talked about work." She lied. She didn't know why she was compelled to lie, but she did anyway. She didn't like the direction the conversation was going. "I think she's bored and you all are too busy, so she's settling for me."

"I'm sorry, Casey…" Olivia finally softened a bit. "This case is just wearing me thin."

"It's alright. Now, please, don't use any more of your energy on me. Get some rest and catch this guy, so I can put him away, ok?"

"Ok," she let a slight yawn slip out, realizing how tired she truly was, "I'll stay until the uni gets here."

"Fine." Casey checked on her coffeemaker, "I'd offer you a cup, but you need to get some sleep."

"Thanks anyway," Olivia retreated and sat down on the couch in the dimly lit living room. She called the station and as it rang, she asked, "Mind if I turn on the TV?"

"Go for it," she said from the kitchen. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, she briefly acknowledged that she would prefer Alex to be here, although Alex didn't carry a gun and was otherwise useless in protecting her. She didn't really think she needed to be protected, but she found that she greatly enjoyed Cabot's company. She definitely preferred her to a lecturing Olivia.


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Three days trickled by…three days of interviews and interrogations for the detectives, days of failed leads, days of confusion and attempts at profiling, days of court and of paperwork. There were no more mutilated little girls and no more strange phone calls or faxes for Casey. Once Borden's daughter had been found, he probably had other things to be concerned with than annoying the ADA. He had been completely scratched off of the suspect list for the killer and Huang continued to assert that it looked like cult activity. What cult? No idea. He even tossed out the idea that there was more than one perp involved, which only worked to enrage Elliot and further distress Olivia.

At the end of the third day, Casey sat in her office typing away on her computer. She hadn't given much thought to the slowly wilting flowers on her desk. She pushed the very existence of Alex Cabot from her mind, and the woman had not attempted to contact her in any way. She thought about it so little that she didn't know if she was thankful or not. Her office phone rang and she mashed the intercom button absently. She answered, "Novak."

"It's Pete and you have a package."

She hesitated and looked up from her work, "What sort of package? I'm not expecting anything."

"Oh, well…it's…uh…"

"Use your words, Pete."

"It's in a box. It's a blank box. It looks like...uh..." He couldn't seem to describe the object.

Casey felt suddenly nervous, being reminded for the first time of the shit that had happened. She had a uni following her to and from work for what she felt was no reason. She leaned back in her chair, "Who delivered it? Are they still there?"

"No…it was a guy. He dropped it off. He had a thick local accent."

"Just hold it down there and don't touch it, Pete." With that she hung up on him and called Elliot on her cell. Once she heard him pick up, she said, "El, it's Casey. I just got a suspicious package. I had Pete keep it up front. I haven't seen it yet, so don't freak out and don't tell Olivia…just…come over here if you can…"

Finally getting a chance to talk, he responded with a simple, "Ok."

Casey decided to call it quits for the day, and by that, she would be taking everything home since she was feeling uncomfortable in her office. She slowly and deliberately collected her necessary files and tucked them into her briefcase. She saved her work and turned off her computer monitor and then locked her office behind her on the way out. She didn't speak to anyone in the hall and she went straight down to the front where Pete sat at the desk, looking confused.

"What's going on Ms. Novak?" Pete asked her.

"I'm not sure. Did you get a good look at the guy?"

"I guess so. He said he was from some bakery. He seemed annoyed to have to deliver whatever this is."

"Bakery?"

"Yeah. I couldn't think of what it was called? Is that a problem? It's a cake or something."

She blinked and approached the desk. "Did he sign?"

"Yeah, he did." Pete remained confused by the issue. Hadn't he been told about Borden's threat and to keep a lookout for anything suspicious relating to the ADA? She guessed not. Or he forgot.

She looked at the scribble on the sheet. It wasn't the most illegible signature and he had written down the name of the bakery as well. It was a place in Little Italy. She looked at Pete and said, "Pete, why didn't you tell me he wasn't suspicious?"

"You didn't asked. Do you want your package now?" I grabbed the blank box and sat it on top of the sign in sheet in front of her.

It was a plain white box made of thin cardboard, folded closed on the top and bottom, typical. It was relatively small and didn't contain a cake unless it was a small cake. A batch of cookies maybe? She opened the top of the box. When she looked down into it, she saw a rounded lump, wrapped in paper and sitting to the side was a white card. She shifted the paper a bit and saw golden-brown bread crust.

Elliot came through the doors and said, "Hey Casey, I made it here as fast as I could."

"Damn. Elliot, I'm sorry. Pete here made it out to be a lot sketchier than it actually is…" she grabbed the card and opened it.

_Will this make up for the flowers? Bread is pretty useful, right? I know you eat bread, I saw you eat some at dinner. This is a parmesan loaf. Dinner again tonight?_

She recognized the tiny and perfect handwriting and she quickly closed the note, feeling embarrassed in front of Elliot and even Pete. Embarrassed mainly for thinking it was a bomb or a body part, and also a little embarrassed because Alex Cabot had a loaf of bread delivered to her at her office.

"Is that…bread?" Elliot asked her, looking curious.

"Yeah, a parmesan loaf." She nodded.

"Someone sent you bread? Should we have it checked for poison?" He wasn't angry.

"Sorry for the confusion, Ms Novak," Pete said, blushing.

She patted him on the shoulder, dropped the note back in the box with the loaf, and covered it again with the lid. "Again, Elliot. I'm sorry to waste your time. I'm sure it isn't poisoned."

"Who sent you a loaf of bread?" He asked.

She shrugged.

"What'd the note say?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it, El." She started toward the door with her briefcase in one hand and the loaf of bread under her arm. "Bye, Pete."

"I'll give you a ride home," Elliot followed her out after exchanging a baffled glance with Pete. "Who sent you bread?" He asked her again as he opened the passenger side door of his car for her.

She shook her head and hoped she wasn't blushing now too, "Don't worry about it, Elliot. It's silly."

"I'm just curious as to why someone sends an ADA a loaf of bread. Come on, you would want to know who sent me bread if this were the other way around."

Laughing, she agreed, "Yeah, I guess so."

He closed the door and walked around to get behind the wheel. "And it's a parmesan loaf?"

"Yes." She attempted a subject change as they pulled into the street and she sat with the box on her lap, "What's going on at the precinct?"

He made a face, sticking out his bottom lip and shaking his head, "Not much. Average week. Still working on trying to figure out our eye-gouging perp."

"No leads?"

"Nope. Not a damn thing that panned out." He got angry when he thought about it, so he changed the subject back, "What kind of person sends someone bread? Is it an inside joke?"

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worrying, I'm just wondering. Is it a secret admirer?"

"Not really a secret, no."

"Oh!" He chuckled, "I see. I wasn't aware that the mating rituals of Casey Novak involved bread."

"Oh my God…no mating ritual. A nice person that I know sent me some bread. I like bread. Would you leave it at that?"

He just laughed.

"Oh, and the patrol car outside of my apartment, I don't think it's necessary anymore. Nothing has happened since the fax." She grumbled, bitterly. "I think Borden is done harassing me."

"Maybe nothing has happened because of that patrol car, Novak."

"Whatever. Should I ask permission to go out to dinner tonight?"

"It's fine as long as you take your cell phone. Who are you going to dinner with?" He gave her a quick playful punch in the shoulder and then looked at her, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "The bread sender?"

"You're incorrigible, Elliot. Alex wants to get dinner is all."

"You and Alex are best buds now."

"She's just bored," Casey asserted, and then she said, "You know…I don't even have her number."

"How are you two communicating? Is there some sort of secret lawyer code? Lawyer telepathy?"

She shrugged, "I know you have it. Give it to me."

"Bossy."

…

Olivia hung up the phone and then ran from her desk, across the precinct into Cragen's office.

He looked up and said nothing.

"Where did Stabler go? We have a potential lead."

"I don't know…where _did_ Stabler go?" He asked her.

She blinked, "I thought you sent him on an errand. He said he'd be right back after getting a call."

"Call him. Now. If he doesn't turn up in the next forty-five seconds, take Fin with you and get on this lead."

She nodded, yanked out her cell, and closed the door. After three rings, Elliot picked up.

"Stabler," he answered.

"El, where the hell are you? We have a lead."

"Son of a bitch. I gave Casey a ride home. I just dropped her off, I'll head right back."

"Cragen said you had forty-five seconds and for me to take Fin." Munch and Fin were both listening in. She made eye contact with Tutuola and motioned for her to come with her as she headed for the door. He put on his jacket and followed, leaving Munch looking sad and left out. "Is everything ok with Casey?"

"Yeah. She just had a little scare is all."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. False alarm, but then I gave her a ride home. What's the lead?"

"Apparently one of the friends of Lindsey Borden made a comment to her teacher that sounded like she may know something more than she told us before."

"Tell me it implicates Borden," he said hopefully.

"Don't know yet. Gotta go." She hung up and she and Fin got into her car.

…

Alex had been milling around her hotel room, straightening little odds and ends. She went grocery shopping and had stocked up for the next few days before she left for DC. She stuck a bottle of white wine in the door of her refrigerator and then paced the length of the suite.

Peering out of the sliding glass doors onto the little balcony, she wondered if Casey had gotten her clever present or not. She told them to deliver it just before five and left an exorbitant tip to ensure that they did so. Chuckling to herself, she pulled out her cell and called Olivia, not knowing that the detective was on her way to speak with a schoolteacher and then one of the little girls involved in the Borden case.

She frowned, making a face that looked sort of like a sturgeon, when Olivia didn't answer. She should have exchanged numbers with Casey at some point, or at the very least put it on the card with the bread. She was beginning to feel like she made a rather arrogant assumption thinking that Casey would exert the effort to obtain her number and call her. She gave her three days to do so and then decided on the gift loaf to prompt her into action.

Attempting to seduce Novak was one of the strangest things she had ever done, she concluded. Maybe not though. Olivia probably. Alex didn't know why she bothered there, since Olivia clearly had the hots for Elliot. Worth a try though, right? It had somehow cemented their friendship pretty solidly, rather than ruining it. Olivia and her empathy. She could legitimately relate though – being attracted to someone unattainable and all herself. Alex laughed at the thought. Casey though, she wasn't even sure what made her want to pursue her. The other woman was almost notoriously rumored to be asexual. Maybe that was it? Maybe it was the fact that it seemed to be an impossible task in which the odds were all against her.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she answered without looking at the ID, assuming it was Olivia calling her back, "Cabot."

Silence.

"Hello?" She looked down at the screen and saw that it was unavailable. She said again, "Hello?"

She felt oddly uncomfortable and looked down at the sidewalk below to see if there were someone looking at her. She felt like she was being watched. She tried to shrug off the feeling because it was only the second time she had gotten the odd phone call. She couldn't shake it and called Elliot.

He answered and she said, "Hey, I have two questions."

"Ok. Shoot, but make it quick. We apparently have another lead on the eye-gouging case."

"One: can you give me Novak's number? And two: can you put a trace on my phone?"

_**A**__**/**__**N**__**:**____The__sturgeon__face__looks__something__like__this__ - :__C_


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"What's going on?" Munch asked Elliot. Elliot had returned from his mystery errand, gone straight to Cragen's office, and then disappeared for some time. It roused Munch's curiosity and he asked as soon as Elliot took off his jacket and sat down at this desk.

"Something weird," he answered. There was a deep crease in his forehead as he shuffled through some papers in front of him. "I just had a trace put on Alex's phone."

"Cabot? Why?"

"_She's_ getting suspicious unavailable calls now." Elliot was looking for the note where he had jotted down the pay phone location for the call they traced from Casey's phone. "Maybe none of this is related."

"Or maybe it's related in a different way than we think," Munch suggested.

"Casey hasn't gotten anymore calls, but apparently this is the second one Alex has gotten since the calls to Casey stopped."

"Weird."

"It's weirder because Alex has a completely new number and she's only given it to me and Liv. She's getting the calls on her personal cell." He found the paper and sat it on a less cluttered part of his desk, so he could find it readily.

"Maybe because she's been out and about with Casey a couple times?" The older man suggested.

"Yeah. Something else weird is going on with Casey too…" His voice trailed off and he wondered if he should share with Munch.

Munch was highly intrigued and pleaded with his eyes and said, "What?"

"Someone had bread delivered to her at her office."

"Bread."

"Yeah. A loaf of fresh parmesan bread."

Munch made a pensive sound and said, "I wish someone would send me bread."

Elliot laughed a little, "She acted really bizarre about the whole thing."

"Are you thinking Novak is courting someone? I always imagined she'd be a little peculiar to date."

"You've imagined dating Casey?"

"Only hypothetically."

They both laughed then and then quieted, seeing Cragen stir in his office. Elliot then whispered, "The only person she's been spending any time with is Alex."

"Do you suppose Alex sent her the bread?"

"I don't know…she also got flowers a few days ago."

"Listen to us sitting around gossiping like women. I'm going to get some coffee and do my paperwork, while I wait for Liv and Fin. Want a cup too?" Munch straightened his tie and cleared his throat.

"Thanks, John."

He chortled slightly, "I love a good mystery. Thanks for sharing."

…

When Elliot told Alex that Casey had demanded her number, she felt substantially better. It also made her relax about the whole unavailable call thing. Elliot seemed worried, and of course asked if she wanted a uni to keep an eye out. She declined, now understanding how Casey felt. She didn't understand why Borden would be harassing her now.

After getting off of the phone with Elliot, Alex pulled the blinds shut, covering the balcony and then she waited patiently for Casey to call. You don't demand someone's number and then put off calling them. Maybe Casey did.

When the phone rang a few minutes later, she thought she'd been waiting for an hour. She nearly jumped out of her skin, and she was sure to check the caller ID this time. It was not unavailable.

"Cabot," she answered.

"Hey, it's Casey."

"I assume you got my gift?" She said with a grin.

"I did. Now what is this about dinner tonight? Do you have somewhere in mind?"

"I do. Would you like to meet me at my hotel?"

"I can do that. I'll leave in a few minutes if that's alright. I'm starving and I know traffic is going to be a bitch at this hour."

"That's fine."

"Dinner's on me tonight."

Offended, Alex said, "It most certainly is not."

"You've paid every time and you sent me bread…and flowers."

"Because I wanted to. It isn't as if I'm short on money."

"I'm not either and I insist that I pay tonight."

"You will not," she argued.

"Then we can each pay for ourselves." Casey found it much easier to say no to Alex when she couldn't actually see her.

"No, that's incorrect. I'll be paying for you, Novak."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"Is this a date? Are you tricking me into a date?" On the other end of the line, Casey was highly amused. She was standing in front of her bathroom mirror, making sure her hair was in place and her shirt was buttoned straight.

"Would you like me to be tricking you into a date?"

"Only if I can pay," she responded.

Alex paused, "What?"

"You heard me," Casey laughed quietly and then balanced her phone between her shoulder and cheek so that she could touch up her make-up.

"Fine," Alex conceded, bitterly.

"That was far too easy. Easier than I thought it would be." Casey had pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels out of her liquor cabinet when she got home. She needed the liquid courage and that was why it took her so long to call. What the hell, she figured. You only live once and she may as well go on a date with Alex Cabot.

"You've found my weakness, Novak. I would appreciate if you don't share it with anyone."

"I won't. I'm going to head out now and I'll see you within the hour."

They bade farewell and Casey went back into her kitchen. She looked at the bottle of Jack and realized her heart was racing. She couldn't believe she just did that. She stared at the bottle, wondering what her friend Jack had done to her and so quickly.

"Well, sir," she said and picked up the bottle, "You have encouraged me to take Alex Cabot on a date." She sat the bottle back in the cabinet and laughed. It was a nervous laugh. After a moment, she took a deep breath, wondering how a single shot had made her feel so incredibly ridiculous. She figured it was because she skipped lunch, but it didn't matter. She dropped her phone in her purse and headed out the door to hail a cab to go out to dinner with Alex fucking Cabot.

Meanwhile, Alex took a seat on the couch and flipped on the TV. She half-smiled because she had only half won. She never really liked to make deals.


	13. Chapter Twelve

_**A/N: **Oh man, this is getting way too cutesy for me. I'll have to do something about it soon. ;)_

Chapter Twelve

While the attorneys had dinner at the upscale Indian restaurant of Alex's choosing, the SVU precinct bustled. No one went home on time that night. Olivia and Fin first spoke with Mrs. Robinson, the teacher that called the hotline earlier that day. Rosemary Parsons, one of the complainants in Borden's trial, a friend and classmate of Lindsay's made a comment along the lines of, "I never liked Lindsay's boyfriend."

Mrs. Robinson found the comment a bit off color because if kids are a couple in the sixth grade, you can usually tell – note passing, holding hands, walking each other to class. Teachers notice shit like that. They know more gossip than any of the kids and no one realizes it. Lindsay didn't have more than a friendly relationship with any boys that Mrs. Robinson had seen, so she asked Rosemary about this boyfriend.

"He had a prickly face," the little girl said.

That set off another warning buzzer in the woman's mind because there were no middle schoolers with facial hair. She asked Rosemary who Lindsay's boyfriend was.

"Alan," she responded, "Lindsay liked him a lot and sometimes they did stuff when she came over to my house."

Lindsay had been at Rosemary's the day she was killed. Rosemary's mother had seen her off to walk the block back to her mom's, but she never made it there and Lindsay's mother had made the incorrect assumption that she stayed for dinner. Mrs. Robinson asked more about Alan.

Rosemary then told her, "It was supposed to be a secret. Alan said he would get in trouble and Lindsay didn't want him to get in trouble, but I guess it doesn't matter now…"

After that Rosemary began to cry, and Mrs. Robinson could get no more coherent words out of the girl. As soon as she left for home, Mrs. Robinson called the station.

The detectives spoke with Rosemary and with Mr. and Mrs. Parsons. Alan Caper used to babysit Rosemary and he lived in the same apartment building. He was sixteen now.

"Why did he stop babysitting her?" Olivia asked, suspecting that he was getting too friendly with the girl and the parents had stopped it.

Her parents were confused, and Mrs. Parsons said, "He told us he didn't have time anymore…it wasn't a decision on our end. We actually thought that his friends were making fun of him for being a babysitter."

"Did Rosemary ever say that he did anything inappropriate with her?"

"Never. Not like Mr. Borden. She told us immediately about what he did." The woman whispered so that Rosemary wouldn't hear from the other room.

Fin and Olivia knocked for a long time on the Capers' door, but no one answered. They'd come back later. They put a uni outside of the building and went back to the precinct.

"Any connection between Alan Caper and our first vic?" Stabler asked, sipping his coffee and sitting on the edge of his desk.

"That's what we need to find out," Fin said, picking up the phone on his desk. "I'ma make some calls."

About half an hour later, Fin slammed the receiver down and said, "Son of a bitch attended the same church as Amelia Francis and he works at the restaurant where we found Lindsay's body."

"Are you fucking serious?" Elliot wasn't in the mood for such a joke from Tutuola.

"I'm fuckin' serious. I don't know how he got into that office building, but I think this is enough for a warrant. Someone fuckin' call Novak."

"On it," Olivia said, already armed with her phone.

Casey was only on her first glass of hadia when her phone began to ring. She looked at it and then decided she had to answer before Olivia thought she'd been killed, "Novak."

"We need a warrant."

"You need a warrant?" She wanted to make sure she'd heard correctly.

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Well…son of a bitch…" Alex groaned and leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms, realizing that their date had now met a premature end. She was glad though that the lead Elliot mentioned had apparently panned out into something. She waited for Casey to finish on the phone and watched as she pulled a pen out of her purse and scribbled some words onto her napkin.

"See you in a few, Liv." She sighed and looked disappointedly at Alex, "You heard that, I guess."

"Yeah. Work. It's cool. I guess I get to pay now."

Casey collected herself and grabbed her purse, "Yeah." She downed her drink with a wince before she stood up and said; "I guess I owe you another fucking date now."

Alex smiled, "Don't sound so angry about it."

"I swear they always have the worst timing with their warrants. I don't know why they can't ever ask for them during normal business hours."

"I know," she leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, "Are you ok to go by yourself?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Casey expected that Alex was just procuring excuses to spend more time with her at this point.

"I just meant with everything going on…with the phone calls and all…" Alex hadn't mentioned that she had received two silent unavailable calls herself.

"I haven't gotten one in forever. It's fine. Borden gave up."

"I know, but…"

"Shit, Alex. I feel terrible. I didn't finish eating, and I-"

"Just go. I'll box it all and take it home with me to eat in my hotel room alone." She hadn't meant for it to come out quite like she was guilting her, but it did.

"Alex…I'm just going to Donnelly's…stay here, enjoy your meal, and I'll try to be back in an hour. If I'm not…I'll call you later, ok?"

"It's fine. I didn't mean to sound so needy. Go get the warrant."

Casey waved awkwardly and then headed out. On her way out she muttered under her breath, "Fuck."

Alex continued picking at her food and sipping her drink. She checked her watch every five minutes, and eventually the server walked by. She flagged him down and went ahead and asked for the bill and a box. After forty-five minutes she massaged her temples and finished the last bit of her vindaloo. She couldn't believe she was actually waiting as if Casey could make it back in an hour. She knew how this shit worked. She knew the deal working with SVU. She had done it for years and had her share of meals interrupted by needing to run out and get a search warrant.

Before the hour was up, the blonde woman finished the last bit of her Indian beer, grabbed the to-go box that was nicely packaged and bagged in front of her. She walked out onto the sidewalk and the cool breeze. It was a bit chilly and she wished she had bothered to put on a jacket earlier. It was only fifteen minutes back to her hotel, but she was tempted to call a cab. She resisted.

"Good evening, Ms. Cabot," Clark greeted her as she passed through the lobby of the hotel.

"Hi, Clark. Have a good night," she said and kept going.

"You look sad."

She stopped and looked at him, "I'm not sad."

"I'm sorry. That was inappropriate. Don't tell anyone I said that." He became sheepish and awkward, having deviated from his automaton tendencies as a corporate employee.

"Don't panic, Clark. You just threw me off," she turned and went back to the desk to talk to the boy and she sat Casey's leftovers on the counter.

"Indian food?" He indicated toward it.

"Yeah," she said.

"You went to dinner alone?"

She smirked, "Are you trying to pry into my personal life, Clark?"

"Oh, no. No." He got flustered again, thinking he was in trouble.

"Clark, relax," she laughed. "I was not having dinner alone, but then I ended up having dinner alone. I'm not sad. I'm just a little disappointed because my dinner was interrupted and I'm going to DC in three days."

He nodded, "Yeah."

"I mean…I'll be back in two weeks, but I just…I don't know. I shouldn't bother you. You have work to do, people to check in, and I'm standing here being in the way." She grabbed the food and said, "Have a good night, Clark."

"Good night, Ms. Cabot."

She sulked in the elevator alone and rode up to her room. She tucked the box into her refrigerator between her hummus and Brie. She looked at the bottle of wine and considered opening it to drink a glass alone. She closed the door instead and took off her heels, kicking them into the bathroom. She peeled off her clothes, hung them back up, and put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Pulling her hair up, she crawled on top of her bed. She propped up the pillows behind her and grabbed the TV remote.

Slouching down more into the pillows, she rolled the remote over a few times in her hands before turning on the TV. She channel surfed until she found an awful made-for-TV movie that looked adequately terrible. She tossed her phone next to her on the huge king bed that engulfed her. At about the moment she got comfortable and involved in the movie, her room phone rang. It wasn't an abnormal event and it was how a lot of the people she was working with got in touch with her. Groaning, she rolled to the edge of the massive bed and grabbed the phone from the nightstand.

"Hello?"

She heard some noise in the background, but no one said anything.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Sometimes there were issues like this with hotel phones. She didn't expect it from this hotel, but it wasn't unheard of for one end of the line to not work. "Sorry. I don't know what's going on with this phone. Can you call back in a few minutes if you can hear me?" Then she hung up.

She sat for a minute and decided to call down to the front desk. For her to get the call, the clerk had to transfer it to her room and perhaps Clark knew who it was. It was the same handful of people that called her while she was here.

"Guest services, how can I help you?" The boy answered.

"Clark, it's Alex Cabot. You just transferred a call to my room and I think it didn't transfer correctly. Do you know who it was so I can call them back?"

"I'm sorry, but I haven't transferred any calls...to anyone. What time was this?"

"Just a second ago."

"That's weird."

"I know..." She felt a little nervous, "How would a call come through to my room then?"

"The only way is if it were someone within the hotel...maybe they dialed the wrong room?" He suggested.

"Maybe..." She glanced around the corner to make sure she had locked her door, and she had. "Thanks, Clark. That's probably what it was."

"My pleasure. Have a good night Ms. Cabot."

She put the receiver down again and snatched up her phone. She was about to call Elliot up when she stopped. How would someone get her room number? She knew they didn't give it out willy-nilly at the front desk. Someone probably just hit the wrong buttons or were trying to get another room. She'd heard about people accidentally dialing 911 from hotels because they were trying to call an outside number. It happened all the time. If it happened again, she'd call Elliot, she decided.

Then her phone lit up with a call from Casey and she felt better, almost forgetting about the other phone call.

"Hey."

"Hey Alex, I'm definitely not going to make it back. They want me to stick around the precinct for a little while in case they bring this kid in tonight," she said.

"It's fine. I understand." She tried not to sound as disappointed as she was. She did understand the job after all.

"Tomorrow night?"

She thought about her schedule for the next day, "Tomorrow night is fine, as long as it's after 8. I'll be working until around 7."

"That's fine. It'll give me a chance to get some of my own work done." She paused and then said, "Oh...well, I have to go. Olivia is flailing for me to come to her desk."

And just then Alex's room phone rang again and she said, "Alright. We'll make plans tomorrow. I have another call anyway. Bye."

She nabbed her room phone again, but this time she didn't say anything when she picked up.

After a second, Clark spoke up saying, "Hello? Ms. Cabot? This is Clark from the front desk."

"Hi, Clark," she let out a huge sigh of relief. "I thought you were my mystery caller."

"No, I'm not. I'm just calling to let you know that two other guests called down shortly after you with the same issue. It seems someone in the hotel is either playing pranks or can't figure out how to work their phone. I just wanted to let you know. I'll be logging this and we'll try to figure out who it is tomorrow."

"Thanks, Clark."

"My pleasure," he said, as always. "Have a good night, Ms. Cabot."

She hung up this time and felt much better, at least about the phone calls. She'd missed what she sure were vital plot points in the movie she had chosen, so she began channel surfing again. She was glad she didn't decide to call Elliot and waste his time, especially since things were apparently going on at SVU.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**_A/N: _**_I forgot I was making my chapter headings bold. My bad. I will remember from now on. Maybe. None of you care about that minor inconsistency, right?_

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Sorry, Liv. I had to make a call," Casey said, rejoining Detectives Benson and Stabler. "Any word from Fin and Munch?"

Olivia shook her head, "Not yet."

She and Stabler were pacing and hovering by their phones. Fin and Munch had taken the warrant to the Caper apartment where they hoped to find whatever was used to make the cuts on the victims. Warner said it was probably a one-inch blade like a box cutter. Finding a box cutter in an apartment wasn't enough for an arrest warrant, which is what they all really wanted. Finding condoms also wasn't reason to arrest a sixteen year old boy, unfortunately. Used condoms would work. They needed other evidence, things that could belong to Amelia and Lindsay, things that connected this boy to those little girls without a doubt.

Elliot eventually stopped his pacing and sat on the corner of Olivia's desk. He crossed his arms and looked at Casey, "How was dinner?"

"Fine."

"Dinner? Oh God, were you on a date? Did we interrupt your date? I've never known you to go on a date..." Olivia's attention perked.

"I was just getting dinner with Alex. Relax. We have more important things to worry about that me having a meal with a colleague." She retorted, smartly.

Elliot shrugged his broad shoulders and then said to Olivia, referring to Munch and Fin, "Maybe we should've gone with them. We'd have found something by now."

"I know..."

...

"We gotta stay in the boy's room, Munch..." Fin called out to his partner, who was rummaging in the kitchen. "If we find a damn knife in the kitchen it won't do us any good." Fin had rummaged through each of Alan's dresser drawers and found only clothes and one tit magazine.

Munch sauntered in and looked around, "Looks like a normal boy's room. He's not even into video games or rock music."

"I think that makes him a little bit abnormal, Munch...like he's tryin' too hard to be really normal."

"Interesting..." The older man looked at his posters, all of which were sports related. He had no pictures of swimsuit models or anything like that.

"Would you look in his closet or something. Quit standin' around."

"I'm just trying to get a feel for this Alan kid." Munch then got down on his hands and knees and began pulling things out from under his bed, "He has a few comic books. Not even interesting ones."

"We're not here to assess his taste in shit, Munch!" Fin yelled, frustrated from his search. He went into the closet and immediately said, "There ain't a damn thing in his closet except clothes and shoes. It's like this fuckin' room is staged."

Munch stood and yanked the boy's blankets back from his bed. It was neatly made and the comforter was plain blue. Too plain. Everything was too plain. Too deliberate for a sixteen year old boy, unless he had OCD and was the most boring boy in the world, or his parents were super controlling. Munch looked under his pillows and in his pillow cases, typical hiding places and then he exclaimed, "Jackpot!"

Fin poked his head out of the closet and saw that his partner held up a pair of little girls' pink panties between his rubber gloved fingers. "Bag it!"

"Maybe the kid keeps his box cutter and rope on him?" Munch then suggested and looked into his trashbin.

"And condoms. I already checked in the trash."

"The girls were both so meticulously cleaned...no hair, no fiber, no fluids..."

"This room is also meticulously cleaned."

Munch nodded, "And these damn panties are clean. Most pervs like the panties used."

"We need to talk to this kid and his parents. Where the hell they at?"

"Probably some sort of sports game," his partner responded, lifting up a pair of soccer cleats. "Looks like this kid also plays a couple things."

"Works at a restaurant, plays sports, and goes to school...and he still has time to date twelve year old girls and cut out their eyes."

"Where could he do all of his cutting?" Munch pondered, "Definitely not here. There's no sign of blood anywhere."

"I'll check the bathroom. Maybe he does it in the tub. I'll swab the drain." Fin exited the room.

Munch continued his exploration of the room until he made his way to the stack of books on the boy's desk. He flipped through a few of the text books and then shouted, "We've got a home schooled boy, Fin!"

"One of the parents have got to know something then." He returned to the room holding a bag with the swab from the drain, "Nothing obvious in the bathroom."

"We've gotta talk to these people. All we have are some clean panties."

"You wanna call the house or me?" Fin asked.

"You think this is enough to bring the kid in?"

"If we can ID these panties as Lindsay's."

Munch nodded, "It's so damn awkward to ask parents about their kids' underwear. I'll do the honors of calling Borden and Frederick if you'll call the captain. We'll have Warner check for DNA on them too, just in case."

They stuck a notice on the door and headed out, wishing they had found something more in that immaculate apartment.

...

"I guess you all don't need me then," Casey latched onto her purse and headed for the door, hearing that Fin and Munch only found a pair of what appeared to be new and clean girls' panties in the kid's pillow case - not enough for an arrest warrant unless it could be established that they belonged to Lindsey or Amelia, which would take some time. He might just be a perv who liked to snuggle with girls' panties before he went to sleep...or jerk off in them. He could've just bought them himself. She doubted it, but that was how this shit worked with the legal system.

"Hey, hey!" Elliot yelled and went after her, "You want a ride?"

"No, I don't want a ride. I'll take a cab home like a normal person. Hell, maybe I'll take the subway to mix it up."

"Are you sure about that?" He was extremely apprehensive about her going alone.

"I'm totally sure. Nothing has happened in days. Borden is done being a child and has more important things to worry about."

Elliot groaned, "Alex has-"

"Alex worries too much," Casey said and headed out the door before he could finish.

Throwing his hands in the air, Elliot gave up with a groan, "That woman is impossible."

"I know," Olivia nodded and slumped at her desk, "We need to catch this guy."

"We will, Liv..." He joined her and patted her on the back, "Cup of coffee?"

"May as well."

"Staying here tonight to stare the evidence board and hope for an epiphany?" He joked.

She looked up at him and chuckled, "I suppose so, or I don't feel like going home."

"Want me to stay too?"

"No, no...you go home," she urged. "You've barely been home in the last week."

He raised an eyebrow and headed for the coffee. He had a lot on his mind and added Olivia's strange unwillingness to sleep in her own bed to the mess. She was probably just hellbent on solving this case, or she really wanted overtime this week, or something like that. It was likely the first option. As he poured her a cup and himself a final half cup before he went home and to bed, his phone vibrated. It was Casey.

"Come the hell outside, right now!" She yelled, the moment he answered.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Elliot left the coffee sitting by the coffee maker and ran through the precinct. He blew past Olivia and straight out of the door. Olivia scrambled to her feet and followed him out as soon as she realized it was him who bolted outside.

He found Casey sitting on the steps up to the station with her head between her knees.

"What's going on?" He asked as Olivia stood at the top of the steps, surveying the scene.

Casey hitched her thumb over her shoulder and Elliot followed the vague motion back up to the station doors. He squinted, "What is that, Liv?"

She turned and glanced at a flyer that had been taped to one of the doors. She hadn't even noticed it on her way out. What sort of idiot tapes a flyer to the door of a police station? What the hell was on it?

"Fucking Christ, Elliot. It's an eye." Her words came out surprisingly calm. She was so shocked that she couldn't feel much of anything.

There was an eye, dangling by the optic nerve, taped to a piece of white paper with normal Scotch tape on a door to the precinct.

Elliot ran back up and stood next to his partner, "What the hell?"

The paper read, in generic black font:

_We have eyes everywhere, Novak._

"What's happenin' here?" Fin asked, getting out of the car that pulled up. He saw Casey sitting on the steps and Elliot and Olivia huddled around the doors. "Whoa…is that a fuckin' eyeball?"

Munch approached, "Who wants to bet that's one of our missing eyes?"

"Why the hell's it got Novak's name on it?" Fin questioned.

No one had an answer.

Casey cleared her throat and got to her feet, dusting off her skirt as she stood. "Well, it looks like I won't be going home quite yet after all."

…

Elliot dropped Casey off at her apartment nearly at midnight, and she was completely open to having the patrol car sit outside of her building. She spent the hours before pacing the station and drinking the bad coffee, while everyone else ran around dusting for fingerprints and Warner came in to run DNA tests on the panties, drain swab, and eye.

"You look pretty shaken up," Elliot said before she got out of the car.

"Well...someone knew I was in the precinct and took the time to personalize a note and attach a human eye to it for me, El." She still found herself capable of having an attitude somehow.

"Want someone to pick you up in the morning?"

"Yes, please..." She took a deep breath, "At five."

"Five?"

"Yeah. I didn't get much done tonight, so I'll have to go into the office early."

"You could just hop a ride with the officer who's here in the morning."

She shook her head adamantly, "I'd rather it be someone I know."

"High maintenance, aren't you, Novak?" He chuckled half-heartedly in the midst of the serious situation.

She smiled, "Did you ever, at any point, think I wasn't?"

"Want me to walk you up?"

"No, I..." She looked out of the window at the shadowy sidewalk and second-guessed herself, "Yes."

"You know we can put you up in a hotel if you want."

"No, thank you though. At least not tonight. I just want to sleep in my own bed for a few hours."

"Alright. Well, let's get you upstairs."

The two of them got out of the black sedan and Casey unlocked the door to the building, keeping an eye out for any notes or human body parts addressed to her.

"At least the main door locks," Elliot observed.

"It doesn't take much to get it open. Sometimes it doesn't close and catch. Munch got in once. Showed up at my apartment door in the middle of the night," she told him as she pressed the elevator button. "If you can't get it open, all you have to do is have someone buzz you in and there's a guy on the first floor who's good for letting anyone in."

"Get your landlord to get that shit fixed," Elliot said in his commanding voice. "And I'll have a chat with your neighbor tomorrow."

"I will. I will." She groaned and they stepped into the lift, "Will you go in my apartment and make sure it's clear, please?" She looked at him sadly and pouted.

"Of course."

Casey unlocked and pushed her apartment door open to let Elliot go in first. She followed him in slowly and kicked off her heels. He walked through, turning on every light as he went. He checked out the perimeter, and in her bedroom and closet. He looked in her bathroom and then gave her the, "All clear."

She was exhausted. The coffee she drank wasn't even going to keep her awake. She saw Elliot back to the door and said, "Thanks."

"No problem, Casey." He started to go, but he turned back and said, "Oh, I was trying to tell you earlier that Alex-"

"Oh, I don't want to think about Alex right now." She mumbled absently and didn't realize it until the entire sentence had already come out of her mouth. Her eyes grew wide and she attempted to usher the detective out of her door.

Elliot raised an eyebrow as he tended to do and didn't budge, "Huh?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired." She shooed him out.

"I'll pick you up at five on my way to the precinct."

"Thanks, again." She did appreciate it. She wasn't really on his way to work at all. She closed the door with a weak smile, and made sure to lock every lock. She methodically checked each of the latches on her windows to ensure they were all locked as well. She closed all of the curtains and finally made it to her bedroom, turning off each of the lights that Stabler had turned on. She barely got undressed when she collapsed into her bed. She lay there for a few minutes in the silence after setting her alarm. It was too quiet. She fumbled around on her nightstand for the remote and turned on the TV for some background noise.

She couldn't shake the image of the bloody and torn eye dangling there, red to contrast with the white paper, and hanging by a piece of Scotch tape for fuck's sake. She had been hungry, but not after that. She had wished she had her leftovers, but not anymore.

Infomercials were on. She rolled over and looked at her phone. Alex would freak out once she heard about this. She didn't really want to go out to dinner anymore. She didn't really want to leave her apartment at all. She didn't even want to go to work. For the first time, she was actually nervous and uncomfortable about this whole thing. Who wouldn't be freaked out by a disembodied eye?

Of course there were no fingerprints and not even a single tiny fiber stuck in the adhesive of the tape. Nothing. The note and eye were as meticulously cleaned as the bodies of the girls.

She had a feeling Borden knew more than he was letting on and she was finally lulled to sleep by a woman droning about weight loss.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Alex cluelessly strutted into SVU headquarters, eating an apple she had picked up at the market. She was merely popping in to say hello to Olivia on her way to the DA's office to see if Casey was perchance interested in lunch or coffee.

No one questioned her and everyone she passed nodded a hello of acknowledgment in the middle of their bustling. She was a fixture in the place, despite her long absence. She noted quickly that something was going on and saw no sign of Olivia or Elliot, or any of her favorite detectives for that matter. She walked up to the evidence board and stopped in mid-bite of her apple as soon as her eyes landed on the newest additions. She stood there with her briefcase and apple, reading over the information.

A note to Casey. With an eye attached to it. Posted on the precinct doors. The eye belonged to Lindsay Borden. Shit…Borden killed his own daughter and used her eye to scare an attorney? That didn't even make any sense.

She looked around and saw only paper-pushers and a few officers. She didn't see Cragen either. Looking back at the board, she saw that some panties had been recovered and Lindsay Borden's mother identified them as belonging to her twelve-year-old daughter, but there was no DNA. Where the hell was everyone?

She didn't really feel like lunch anymore, but still carried around her half-eaten apple, not wanting to waste it. She walked down the corridor toward the interrogation rooms where she spotted Munch standing by the two-way glass with his arms crossed. She joined him and asked, "Who's that?"

"Jordan Borden," he answered. "What're you doing here, Cabot?"

"Coming to say hello to Olivia, but it looks like she's busy."

Olivia and Elliot had Borden sitting in interrogation and not for the first time. They had him in the wobbly chair and Elliot stood behind him, looking down at him menacingly.

"Fin's got our other suspect over there. Sixteen-year-old boy boinking Borden's daughter and no one noticed."

"God…" She muttered. "I'm heading out. I'll probably stop back by before I head to DC."

"When do you leave?" He asked her.

"Day after tomorrow."

"When do you come back?"

"Two weeks, I think…unless something changes."

He nodded and then she bade him a quick farewell.

She reached the DA's office just before noon and was forced to have meaningless chitchat in the elevator with some attorney's she had no interest in.

"Coming to get your old job back?" One of them asked with a smile.

"Nope. I'm seeing if Novak wants to get lunch."

"Novak? Really?" The other public servant seemed confused by her statement.

"Yes, Novak. Here's my floor," she spoke quickly and stepped off, glad to be away from their stupid questions.

When she had nearly gotten to her destination, Jack McCoy appeared out of nowhere. Despite her lack of eye contact, he still stopped her in the hall with, "Alexandra Cabot! I heard you were in town!"

"Yes, sir. I'm in a bit of a hurry though." It wasn't a lie.

"Oh. Alright then. Stop by my office sometime so we can catch up." He seemed like he was going to let her go, but then came another question, "What're you doing here?"

"Just dropping off something for Novak and then I have to get back to Immigration."

"Oh, I see."

She started past him, unsure if his tone was condescending or disapproving or just curious. "I'll swing by your office tomorrow afternoon, after lunch."

"We miss you, Cabot."

She barged into Casey's office without knocking, forgetting for a moment that it wasn't her own office anymore. She closed the door and then rested her back on it with a sigh. Casey looked up from her desk, baffled.

"Christ, I thought I'd never make it here. I ran into McCoy in the hallway and he's good for talking your ear off. I got away from him by telling him I was dropping something off for you and then leaving, so now I can't stay." She rambled.

"What're you doing here?" Casey asked, her expression not changing.

"I came to see if you wanted to get lunch. I finished up my morning presentation early, so I have some time to kill before my meeting tonight."

"Oh."

Alex frowned, "You're not nearly as happy to see me as I hoped…"

"I'm sorry," she pushed her chair back from her desk and then stretched her arms over her head. She didn't want to tell her about the eye, not knowing that Alex had found out on her own. "I'm just tired."

"Coffee?"

Casey looked at her watch and said, "Yeah, let's go to the place around the corner."

"My treat," Alex said as Casey gathered her things and saved her work.

"God, I'm too tired to even try to argue. Dinner's on me tonight though." She grabbed her keys and then asked, "What's with the apple?"

"Oh, it was my pre-lunch snack, but then I…lost my appetite."

Casey raised an eyebrow, "McCoy?"

Laughing, Alex said, "Yeah…he'll do that to you."

"You don't have to tell me that," the redhead ushered her out of the door again and then locked it behind her.

...

"No!" Borden yelled and stood up, knocking his wobbly chair backwards. "No! No! No!"

Olivia just told him about his daughter's eye. He seemed genuinely revolted and genuinely appalled.

His voice caught in his throat, "Why...why would I fucking do that?"

"You threatened ADA Novak!" Elliot yelled and pointed a finger at him. He leaned in close, trying to intimidate the man.

"Not with my daughter's God damn eye!" He ran his hands through his hair, ruining its neat and careful placement, "I meant that I knew people in the DA's office and I'd found out some things about her! I just wanted...just wanted to ruin her career..." He admitted.

Elliot and Olivia exchanged glances and Elliot backed off slightly.

Borden's breathing grew heavy, "Why don't you go talk to the prick she was dating? Why don't you go do that?"

Not liking to be told how to do his job, Elliot got in his face again and spoke between his teeth, "I guess you were too busy molesting her friends to notice she was dating someone."

...

Alan Caper admitted readily to babysitting Rosemary, attending church with Amelia, and working at the restaurant where they found Lindsay's body, but he denied dating Lindsay entirely.

When they whipped out the panties, he confessed to them being his immediately, and his mother sitting next to him was completely aghast. "Those are mine," he said, quietly, "I like them..."

"Alan!" Mrs. Caper exclaimed. "What do you do with them?"

"Leave the question to me, ma'am," said Fin and then he said to Alan, "What do you do with little girls' panties, boy?"

"I...I...I sleep with them..." He stammered, "I like to hold them..."

"Where'd you get 'em?"

"I..." He cleared his throat, "I stole them...from a store...out of a pack..."

"What store?"

"Stop talking, Alan." His mother said firmly before he could speak. "If you're going to continue this nonsense, we're getting a lawyer."

Fin sighed. Maybe they weren't Lindsay's. Maybe there were like Lindsay's. They'd figure out what stores carried the brand and pattern and see if anyone noticed any open packs when they did inventory. The kid didn't have a locker since he was home schooled, so they didn't have a locker to search. They searched his sports bags and expanded their warrant to cover the garage, but they found nothing. Caper seemed clean. A little pervy, but not a killer.

Munch paced in the hall. They were going to have to cut them both loose. Dead end again, unless by some twist of fate no panties were stolen from any stores. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted.

"Son of a bitch..." Fin muttered after he closed the door of his interrogation room. "Fuckin' over-protective helicopter-mom is lawyerin' him up for stealin' underwear."

"I heard."

"What about Borden?"

"Gone."

"Well...shit..." Fin let out a groan and poked his head back into the room, "You can go, but have your lawyer ready." She held the door for the two of them.

Mrs. Caper grasped the back of her son's arm so tightly that it looked painful, but he didn't seem fazed. As she passed by Munch, she hissed in Alan's ear, "You are going to have to repent for this."

The boy sulked and walked with his head down, looking only at his feet.

Munch rolled his eyes. He and Fin spent the rest of the day calling department stores about missing panties, while Benson and Stabler stared at the evidence board hoping for something new to jump out at them.

Dr. Huang ended up joining them. The first thing he said was, "I wish I could have watched the interviews."

"I'm sure they'll both be back," Elliot told him. "Borden can't seem to stay away."

He nodded and rubbed his chin, "So we've got evidence of prolonged abuse, eyes removed, posed and strategically placed bodies, age variation...and Novak, whose only connection is Borden, who is only involved in this because his daughter was a victim, and it's coincidence that he threatened her?" He pondered, "Then there's Alex's suspicious calls and we don't even know if they're related. Everything about this is meticulous, every single thing, every aspect, like some macabre show is being played out. Who knows how long this has been planned..."

"What are you on about, Huang?" Olivia asked.

He shook his head, "I'm not sure, but to me it looks like they're trying to convey some sort of message..."

"They?" Elliot questioned him.

"I'm almost certain there is more than one person involved...back to my cult theory."

"Do you think there are other girls running around the city who are being systematically raped and cut every few months?" Olivia was disgusted and didn't hesitate to show it.

"Probably," he answered solemnly, "And they'll continue to experience it until these people are done with them, and then they'll be murdered like Lindsay."

"Or until we catch these sons of bitches," Elliot spoke firmly and certain.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Not to worry you, but there's someone following us," Alex leaned over and whispered to Casey. The two women had been walking casually down the sidewalk on the way to a sushi bar near Alex's hotel.

"Shit…" Casey didn't turn around and look, but she did pause for a split-second as her heart skipped a beat before she continued moving again to keep in stride with Alex.

Cabot tried to maintain her tone and demeanor, "We should call someone."

Casey had already pulled out her cellphone to text Elliot, "I'm on it. Damn, maybe I should have taken them up on their offer to have a uni follow me..."

"Did you tell anyone what you were doing tonight?"

"Yeah, they know I'm having dinner with you, and there's an officer posted outside of my apartment, but I didn't think it was necessary to have a chaperone to go get sushi with you."

Alex made a face, "What do you wanna do? Maybe you should call?"

"I don't need to call. Are you sure this person's following us? Maybe they're just going in the same direction we are, like lots of these other people."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I saw him outside of your office today too. Maybe." She wasn't sure about this at all, but she was pretty sure the man behind them in his black sweatshirt and dark sunglasses was following them.

She groaned, "I don't need to call. What're they going to do during the dinner rush on a street in Manhattan? Seriously?"

The other attorney looked at her sternly.

"Maybe we should just go back to your place?" She rolled her eyes, angry that her life was being interfered with.

"Yeah, probably a good idea." Alex didn't really think it was a good idea though. She had failed to mention that she had been receiving unnerving unavailable calls now herself. She tried to tell herself it was a coincidence, and she said, "We can order room service."

"Dammit, Cabot. That means I won't be able to pay. Again. And I was in the mood for sushi," Casey whined.

"How about this? If we turn around and walk back up the sidewalk and he doesn't follow us, we'll turn around again and you can buy me some sushi?"

"Fine. How are we going to do this without our follower knowing we're onto him, hm?"

Alex stopped, opened her purse, looked inside and said loudly, "Oh no! I forgot my wallet!"

Casey stifled a snicker and then whispered, "You're bad at this." Then she said louder, "Let's go back for your wallet!"

She held in her own laugh and then they turned and walked past the man. They both tried to get a quick and good look at him. Speaking quietly, Casey asked, "Was that him? In the sunglasses?"

She nodded, "Recognize him?"

"No."

He was a nondescript white man, short dark hair, jeans, black sweatshirt, sunglasses. Nothing distinguishing him from anyone else.

"That was some awful acting you did back there," Casey laughed now.

"Did you hear yourself? It was all I could think of."

"It wasn't what you said, it was how you said it."

"Whatever, Novak."

"Is he still following us?"

"I don't know. I can't turn around and look."

"Turn around and look when we stop at this crosswalk," she nodded ahead to the intersection they approached. "Just look around and see if you see him. How the hell did you notice him to begin with?"

"I felt like someone was watching me...you know, that feeling, so I looked around."

They joined a few other people at the corner, waiting for the signal to change, so they could avoid jay-walking. "Well, do that."

Alex pursed her lips and then looked back over her right shoulder and then over her left. She cleared her throat, "He stopped and is on his cell phone now. He's about half a block back." Then she admitted, frowning, "I don't know if he's following us.

"I made reservations..." She was still mad about the sushi as they crossed the street.

"Drop something and then go back to pick it up and see if he moved," Alex told her.

"God, we're thinking about this way too much."

"We're lawyers, we over-think. It's what we do."

"What do you want me to drop? My whole briefcase? I don't have anything."

"Drop your phone, or lose your shoe or something."

Casey grumbled, moved slightly to the side toward the buildings, sat down her suitcase and then acted like there was something in her shoe. The entire series of actions were too deliberate and planned, but it didn't matter because the son of a bitch was following them. She snatched up her briefcase and said, "Let's get going?"

"Is he following us?" Alex asked.

"Would I be walking away from the sushi if he wasn't?"

"Shit...has Elliot texted you back yet?"

"No."

"You should call."

"I'll call when we get to your room, ok? Right now just let me be pissed off about the sushi."

Alex elbowed her gently, "Are you more mad about the sushi or that someone's following you?"

"The sushi," she answered immediately, then after a brief pause she said, "I'm also mad that this man ruined my plans. I had everything planned out, and now I have to change my plans to accomodate him fucking stalking me. I need to cancel the reservation and that's going to mess up the plans at the restaurant too. He has messed up my system and the restaurant's."

"If it makes you feel better I have a bottle of wine that needs to be finished before I leave..." said Alex, unsurely.

Casey had her phone to her ear, presumably calling the sushi bar, "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cancel my reservation. I'm not going to make it...last name is Novak. Thank you."

After she hung up, Alex said, "I'm sorry."

"What? It's not your fault."

She shrugged, as they walked into the lobby of the hotel. Alex headed for the front desk and leaned onto the counter, "Clark, no calls to my room tonight and if anyone asks, I'm not here, ok?"

He nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"Thanks." When they got onto the elevator, she said to Casey, "That was Clark the clerk."

Casey looked around the lobby as the doors closed and saw the man on his phone standing just outside of the entrance. She leaned her shoulder onto the wall of the elevator, "God damn, he's outside of the hotel."

"Shit..." Alex felt uneasy. Clark couldn't give out her room number, but she kept thinking about the odd calls. The doors opened again and they headed down the hallway in silence.

While Alex unlocked the door, Casey said, "I definitely need a drink."

She flipped on the light. "Hooray for living out of a hotel room…" Alex said sarcastically, taking off her heels. "At least if we're here I don't have to wear these damn shoes."

"You have a balcony," Casey poked around, being nosy. She sat her briefcase down by the small couch and took of her jacket, "Can I hang this up?"

"Sure. Put it in my closet." The other woman pulled the wine out of her mini-fridge, "I don't have a corkscrew."

"Room service one?" Casey continued poking and making assessments about Alex's organization and tidiness. She concluded she couldn't judge her too harshly because this was, after all, a hotel room.

"I don't have any glasses either. I think the room service menu is in the drawer under the phone."

Casey had opened the sliding glass door leading to the balcony, and she said, "Let's sit out here."

"Ok..."

"Get us that corkscrew and some glasses," she moved back inside and across the room. She took off her shoes and left them beside her briefcase and then she pulled the menu out of the drawer and ventured back out.

Alex chuckled and picked up the phone. Before she hit the room service extension, she shouted, "Call Elliot or Olivia, or someone!"


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

Alex called down for two wine glasses, a corkscrew, and two Caesar salads, not knowing what Casey would want. They could always order more.

"Don't look at my feet, they're giant," Casey said as Alex came to join her on the little balcony overlooking a section of the city. Casey had managed to drag out two chairs and the end table from next to the love seat, which she had separating the chairs. She'd thrown the menu down on top of it. She tossed her feet up onto the railing and untucked her shirt from her pants.

Alex sat down, "They said it'll be about ten minutes."

"I guess I can wait twenty minutes for a glass of wine. I'd drink it out of the bottle but I have these neuroses that try to prevent me from doing anything unsophisticated in front of you."

"We don't have a corkscrew either, you'd have to open with with your teeth."

"That wouldn't be classy at all."

"Particularly unsophisticated considering the vintage."

"In college I got a cork out with a butter knife once."

Laughing, Cabot asked, "Did you call someone and tell them about the man following us?"

"Yes. God, Alex. I called Liv. I told her not to freak out and just to send a uni to see if the guy's still around. I told her it was nothing crazy and that I'd be here for a while."

"And?"

Casey shot her a glare, "I told her I'd call her when I was leaving and they'd send someone to give me a ride back to my apartment."

"You know you could-"

"Don't even ask me to stay, Cabot. You are totally knocking yourself off of the pedestal I put you on. I didn't even conceive of you being so...so smarmy."

"Smarmy? Really?" Alex became honestly taken aback, "I have never had anyone call me smarmy before."

"I meant it as a compliment?"

"You can't ever mean smarmy as a compliment. You can't contrive it in any way to make it positive. It isn't even a pleasant sounding word. It sounds sort of like if you've lost control of your mouth and you're slobbering all over yourself."

"When you put it that way..."

"Look, Novak. Casey," she corrected, "Casey, I don't know what sort of pedestal you've put me on, but I can assure you I don't deserve to be there. I've made an ass of myself in front of you several times now. You keep shutting me down and begrudgingly agreeing to dates. I may have a high conviction rate and a swanky hotel room, but I am doing miserable work, and I'm really just a normal person. I swear. I enjoy your company and I have to do something to stop from going crazy."

"I'm sorry I called you smarmy," Casey said quietly.

"I forgive you. I'm not smarmy. Kressler is smarmy."

Casey smirked, "Kressler isn't trying to get in my pants."

"For fuck's sake, Novak." Alex crossed her arms and pursed her lips, refusing to say anything more if it would get her nowhere.

Both women sat quietly and brooded for a moment before Casey spoke up again, "Hey Alex..." She began apprehensively, "If I can be honest with you and sober for a minute before the glasses get here...I said the other night that I don't really date. I don't have the time or the emotional capacity really. If I did date I'm not sure it would be wo-"

"You played softball," Alex intruded.

"Oh my God, let me talk," she tried to stifle a laugh, but she couldn't help smiling slightly.

Cabot then mumbled, "See, I shouldn't be on any sort of magical pedestal, Novak."

"It's not that I don't admire you and it's not that you're not ridiculously attractive-"

"So you do think I'm hot?" She interrupted the redhead again.

"Jesus Christ. I mostly think you're a bitch right now."

"You speak with such fervor, which is one of the reasons I'm so fascinated by you."

Casey rolled her eyes, "If I didn't know better I'd think you were drunk already."

"I'm just trying to be normal! Would it help if I changed into sweatpants?"

"God, don't crush my idealized image of you just yet."

There was a knock on the door interrupting them and a firm shout of, "Room service!"

"I got it," Alex got up and headed through her suite. She gazed through the peephole to make sure the person looked like an actual employee of the hotel and not the generic white man that followed them. The Latino man pushed a silver cart and had on the whole ensemble, including a round red hat.

"Two wine glasses, a corkscrew, and two Caesar salads," he said as she opened the door.

"If you could just put everything on that desk right there," she pointed, "I'll go grab you a tip."

He nodded, rolled in his cart and unloaded the silver trays and nicely wrapped silverware and other items while Alex got her wallet out of her purse. She handed him a few bills and then called to Casey, "Novak, I got you a salad."

First thing came first: she locked and bolted the door and then went to grab the wine. She grabbed both of the wine glasses by their stems with one hand and the corkscrew in the other. She poured the two glasses as Casey came back through the sliding glass door.

"I'll take the salads out," she said, "You bring that wine."

"If you want something of more substance than that salad just let me know."

"If you wouldn't mind, I'll swing by the front desk on my way out and pay your room service charges."

"Novak," Alex sat back down, "Just shut up."

Casey shrugged and began forking at the salad in the shallow tray. "If I'm going to date you, we need to come up with a payment system. I didn't know going on a date with another woman would be so complicated."

"You're weird."

"Calling me weird isn't a good way to seduce me, Cabot."

Alex groaned and downed her entire glass of wine and then poured another. She adjusted her skirt and put her feet up on the rail like Casey. She took a bite of her salad and said, "You called me smarmy."

"Forget the smarmy."

"I'm smarmy and you're weird."

"I am not weird. I am an Assistant District Attorney with the Special Victims Unit, and I happen to-"

"Novak, eat your salad. I know where you work." The blonde pointed her fork at the crisp, fresh romaine lettuce on the other woman's lap.

"Some shit went down at the precinct last night," She took a bite of salad, "And then this guy is following me. I don't even know what's going on."

"If you need to talk about work, talk about work. Go ahead. Get it off your chest and then we'll be normal people after that."

Casey poked at her salad and rattled off the latest developments with the eye. She covered the breadth of all of the happenings, drinking her wine and eating her salad. Alex listened quietly, nodding. When Casey finished off her wine, Alex refilled her glass.

Nodding a thanks, Casey finished off with, "So...I'm getting a little nervous, understandably, I think. Right?"

"Right," Alex didn't mention she'd been by the station earlier nor did she mention her own suspicious phone calls. "That's so ridiculous. I hope they can figure out whose behind it...I can't even conceive of a way for it all to be connected." She changed the subject, "Do you want anything else? I feel bad just feeding you a salad and some pinot grigio."

Casey sighed, "I could go for that surf 'n turf deal, and I guess we should head inside. It's getting a little chilly."

"Done," Alex swung her feet down and took herself and her wine back inside to call for more room service.

Casey remained out on the balcony for a while, sipping her wine. She ended up gazing over the railing and watching the people bustle around below in the streetlights. She saw the patrol car parked on the side of the road out in front of the hotel. She assumed the officer was talking to Clark the clerk and she wondered if they'd need to talk to her. She foresaw her dinner being interrupted again.

She dangled her arms over the rail and swirled her wine, feeling uncomfortably surreal. What was going on? Threats, eyes, missing eyes, cult involvement, and all of this being topped off with the magical bitch Alex Cabot attempting to woo her. She looked over her shoulder back into the dimly lit hotel room and saw Alex clearing a load of paperwork off of the little table in her kitchenette that Casey had ganked the chairs from to put outside.

Smirking a bit, she sat and watched. They were barefoot, but otherwise in full courtroom attire. This was all completely ridiculous. Casey couldn't help but think it was some sort of trick and that somewhere everyone else was laughing at her. She took the wine in and sat it on the table as Alex's room phone rang.

"Hello?" Alex answered, "Yeah, Clark. That's fine. You are allowed to send officers up," then she laughed, "I'm sorry you're going to have to fill out an incident report now. I hate paperwork myself, kid. It's a necessary evil in our society unfortunately."

"I hope they're done with us before our food gets here," Casey muttered and went out to get one of the chairs. "I also intend to murder any detectives who call me for a warrant tonight. You're leaving the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah, two weeks in DC, but I'll be back here for a few weeks after that and I should have some legit free-time. We could go to the zoo or something."

Casey froze and sat down the chair. She turned around slowly, her forehead wrinkled sternly, "Did you seriously just ask me to go to the zoo with you?"

Alex laughed and poured herself more wine, "Should I go ahead and order another bottle from room service?"


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**_A/N_****: **_I've gotten a fair number of reviews for this lately, so...thanks, kiddos!_**  
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**Chapter Eighteen**

"So..." Casey drew out the word and leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs under the little table in Alex's hotel room, "I don't get to see you before you leave?"

"Damn. For once you actually sound like you want to see me, but I'm completely booked all day tomorrow and then I'm leaving at 5:30 the morning after." Alex pouted.

"I've simply become accustomed to these little social events is all. I don't like you or anything. Don't get too excited."

"Good," Alex smiled, "Thanks for humoring me though. I didn't get much humoring while I was in Africa and I won't be getting any humoring from anyone in Washington."

"I guess I should put on my shoes and get my jacket. Liv should be here any minute. Thanks for dinner. I now owe you two dinners when you get back." She sighed melodramatically.

"I'm holding you to that, Novak."

"You do that," Casey got up from her seat and stretched. She put her heels back on and then went to the closet for her jacket.

"Casey?"

"Yes'm?" She turned around and adjusted the collar of her shirt.

Alex had gotten up and begun milling around the room, "Be careful, ok?"

Novak smiled a little, "I'll be fine. I'll get chauffeured around by the detectives everyday."

"Is Liv coming up or meeting you downstairs?"

Casey shrugged and picked up her briefcase, "I don't know. Why?"

"Oh...I was just wondering."

"You should probably say goodbye to everyone before you leave."

"It's not like I'm never coming back. It's two weeks."

She shrugged again and started for the door, "Walk me out?"

"Well, aren't you needy?" She scoffed, "Let me get my shoes. I suppose I should bid farewell to Liv."

When she stepped by to get her shoes from the closet, Casey grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She leaned in and kissed her. Alex instinctively moved her hands to the other woman's hips. Casey in a moment of panic lost her grip on her briefcase. It came crashing down and she squirmed away.

"Ouch! Damn!" Alex squealed and began hopping around on her left foot, clutching her right.

"I'm terrible at everything...oh my God." Casey covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled, "Too much wine."

"Too much wine," Alex nodded in agreement. "You got my little toe." She propped herself against the wall and looked at her foot, laughing.

Exasperated, Casey clutched her head, "I'm just gonna go."

"Wait and I'll walk you down. What the hell do you keep in that thing? Bricks?"

"No. God, I'm sorry, Alex. I'm just gonna go." She fumbled with the door latch and the knob, snatched up her briefcase and left.

"Casey, wait a minute!" Alex called after her. She growled and hobbled for her shoes.

Novak, feeling ridiculously embarrassed, reached the elevator and pressed the down button more times than necessary as if it would speed up the lift. Of course, that didn't work. With a groan, she waited impatiently. When the elevator finally dinged and doors finally slid open, she found herself face to face with Detective Benson.

"Hey, Casey. I thought I'd swing by and say hello to Alex," the woman said. Perceptively, she asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Casey plastered on a smile.

"Are you drunk?"

"No, I just had a few glasses of wine," she waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. "I have a ton of work to do..." Her voice trailed off as Cabot rounded the corner.

"Liv!" Alex exclaimed excitedly and pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose.

"Are you limping?"

The blonde looked down at her feet and then said, "Yeah...I jammed my foot on the table. It's nothing."

Olivia looked from Alex to Casey and back again, "Well, ok then."

Casey stood silently, clutching the handle of the suitcase with both hands. Her shirt wasn't tucked back in and her cheeks remained flushed from the wine and embarrassment. The three looked at each other until another elevator dinged again and let off several passengers on the floor.

Olivia spoke up again and to Alex, "Casey has work to do, so I'll swing by on my way back."

"Sounds great, I'll just hop in the shower." She turned to Casey, "I'll call you when I'm back in town, Novak."

She nodded, but said nothing and then Olivia gave a friendly wave before Alex went back down the hall, favoring her foot noticeably. The detective pressed the down button for the elevator once more and casually asked, "What's going on with you and Cabot?"

For a moment, Casey looked at her blankly, but then she said, "Nothing. We just talk about work."

Olivia raised and eyebrow as the ding sounded and the two boarded the elevator, "Has she gotten any more strange calls? She's nearly as stubborn as you are."

"What're you talking about?"

"Oh..." Olivia stuck her thumbs through the belt loops of her pants and rocked back on her heels, "I guess she didn't tell you."

"What sort of phone calls?"

"The unavailable silent kind, and she got a few to her hotel room, but those were pretty much debunked."

...

Elliot sat outside of the Caper's apartment building in his patrol car with a cup of coffee. He had parked across the street and brought a newspaper, but it was now too dark to read it, so he just listened to a classic rock station and sipped a cup of coffee. He was determined to catch some sort of suspicious activity that little punk Alan.

Fin and Munch had asked department stores in the area about the panties. Unfortunately, it was a common occurrence for people to open up the packs to either check the size or steal the pairs they wanted. Elliot though had a gut feeling that the boy was lying.

Huang said that it was possible the boy could be involved in this cult he kept going on about. Elliot wasn't sure about a cult, but he agreed with Huang that the scrawny Caper boy was involved somehow.

Unfortunately, nothing remotely interesting had happened. None of the Capers even left the building. Allan must not have had practice. Tomorrow he'd check out the boy's soccer team and the parents. He'd get someone to crack.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Nothing panned out with the man who was following Novak. By the time the uni got there, he was long gone. The Clerk had seen him and he was caught on the security camera facing the front entrance, but he moved along quickly once Alex and Casey got onto the elevator. The camera didn't get a good image of his face. Olivia kept him posted. He wished he hadn't gotten Casey's text ten minutes too late. He would've been at that hotel in minutes to bust the man's head.

When he reached the last swallow of his coffee and when he was about to call it quits and head back to the precinct, the front door to the complex opened and Mrs. Caper exited. She was alone and she began heading up the block. Elliot started his car and followed her slowly and at a safe distance.

"Doesn't she know it isn't safe to walk down the street alone at night?" He mumbled.

She ended up venturing into the nearest corner store. Elliot parked outside on the opposite side of the street again. She was inside the store for no more than fifteen minutes and she came out empty-handed. She headed back up the block toward her apartment and Elliot found himself dumbfounded. He turned the car around and followed her back. She went back inside. It wasn't a crime to go to the store and not buy anything, but it was odd to say the least.

He returned dejectedly to the precinct and sat down at his desk, "I got nothing."

"Same here," said Munch. "I think I'm gonna head out and hope for a better day tomorrow."

He told Munch and Fin about Mrs. Capers and then asked, "Where's Liv?"

"Alex's," said Fin.

"Cabot's off to the Capitol day after tomorrow," Munch added.

Elliot nodded, "Nothing new on the guy following her and Novak?"

"Nothing at all," Munch told him. "We're not even sure which one the guy was tailing. Alex is working on some shit that's pissing a lot of people off, you know."

Elliot grunted in agreement."This is ridiculous."

"I agree and now I'm goin' home." Fin put on his jacket and picked up his keys, "Looks like another week with overtime."

Elliot kicked up his feet onto his desk and Munch asked, "You staying?"

"I don't know." He shifted around and looked at the evidence board, "I just don't see how anything is connected."

"Go home and sleep on it," Munch said to him as he put on his brimmed black hat. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later, Stabler," Fin said and walked out with his partner.

It was relatively quiet in the station. Phones still rang and papers shuffled, but it wasn't crazy. Elliot thought best here and not so much at home. He didn't know if he'd even be able to get to sleep with everything that was going on. He dreaded another eyeless body turning up and he dreaded even more than it might be their ADA. He looked beyond the evidence board toward the Captain's office and saw that it was dark - not completely dark, but it looked like only the desk lamp was on. Had the old man forgotten to turn it off or was he still sitting in there? It wouldn't hurt to check.

He made his way between the desks and peeked into Cragen's office. He was gone. If Cragen had headed out, he figured he may as well too. When he arrived home, he kissed Kathy and threw a TV dinner into the oven, then he cracked open a beer and sat on the couch. He felt restless and something was wrong in his gut.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**_A/N:_**_Hey, look! I'm updating. I hadn't worked on this in so long I had to re-read all of it and make a chart, but here's a chapter. Maybe I'll write another one soon._**  
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**Chapter Nineteen**

Stabler fumbled for the phone on his bed stand. Kathy lay curled up on his bare chest. She groaned, annoyed with having to move, as he cleared his throat and answered, "Stabler."

"We just found another body," Captain Cragen said on the other end of the line.

"I'll be right there," Elliot grumbled, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. "Where?"

"Central Park."

"Tell me someone saw our guy dump the body," he said as he pulled on a pair of jeans.

"Don't know yet, just get here before it turns into a media madhouse."

"You got it," he shoved his phone into his pants pocket and pulled a white tee on, looking over his shoulder at his wife he said, "Sorry."

"It's fine," she responded, not sounding fine at all. She was propped up on her elbows. "I'm used to it."

"Kathy, come on," he reached into the closet and grabbed a blue shirt from a hanger.

"You spend more time at work than you do at home."

"I know. It's just this case..." He didn't sound quite apologetic, more matter-of-fact.

"You won't even tell me what it's about."

He put on a coat and said, "I try not to bring my work home, Kathy. It's not like I work at a bakery. If I bring my work home, it isn't chocolate chip cookies."

"I know...I know..." She lay back down and rolled over, so not to face him.

Elliot didn't say anything else. He grabbed his wallet and his shield, heading out to his car. It was just after nine. He and Kathy had gone to bed early and he felt like he'd just dozed off - he probably had. He had looked forward to a full night of sleep, but that was out the window now. He'd left the station early. It had been a week since Lindsay Borden's eye turned up on the door of the precinct. Things started to quiet down and now they picked up again. He knew this body had to do with that case by the way Cragen's voice had sounded. They'd gotten no closer to anything, and now there was another body. Another one. He dreaded the scene he was about to arrive at.

...

Warner ducked under the police tape, maneuvering easily between the people in the crowd that was forming and then she weaved between CSIs and joined Olivia. Detective Benson stood with her hands on her hips, looking dejectedly at the body on the bench.

"Jesus Christ..." Melinda muttered.

"I don't even know where to start," Olivia said in response.

"After you've got all of the pictures you need, I think we should start by untying her..." She shook her head and said again, "Jesus Christ."

"What the hell?" Elliot said, coming up behind them.

The three stood there and looked at the latest victim. She was older than the previous two, probably about sixteen Warner surmised at a glance. She sat in the center of the bench in a blood-soaked smock. A length of rope was tied to either of her wrists and they were bound to the arms of the bench. They were stretched out as far as they would go without removing her shoulders from their sockets. The girl's head was tilted back, looking up at the sky with her eyeless face.

"Any ID on her?" Elliot asked after several minutes passed.

Olivia shook her head.

"Witnesses?"

"Don't know. The person who called it in refused to say their name and called from a pay phone. They're long gone now...Fin is dusting the phone for prints as we speak. Maybe we'll get lucky." She didn't sound hopeful.

"How did no one see this shit?" Elliot's temper was rising the longer he stood there. He turned away and shouted for Cragen, "Captain!"

As he wandered away, Melinda approached the body with unnecessary caution. Soon she said, "The bastard cut out her tongue."

Olivia covered her mouth and just stood there, appalled. She watch Warner do her work for several minutes, blocking out the noise of the press and the onlookers. Finally, she muttered, "Her tongue and her eyes?"

"Yep," the medical examiner answered. "I've got a feeling that if we don't catch whoever this is, ears will be next."

Detective Benson rubbed her forehead and circled the bench, looking pale and disgusted. "This had to have taken a while, this set-up."

"I'm not entirely sure yet, but it looks like these ropes were tied pre-mortem. Maybe she was tied up and then our perp killed her, cut the rope, and then posed her out here for us." Melinda poked at the girl's legs with her gloved hands, "Yep. I'd say she was hog-tied. She has bruises and rope burns on her ankles too."

"How'd she die?"

"I can tell you she's been dead for about five hours, and that this one definitely wasn't an accident. Tongue removal was post-mortem though...maybe an afterthought?" She stood up and removed her gloves with loud snaps.

"Let's get her out of here."

Warner nodded in agreement, "I'll give you my report as soon as it's done."

"Thanks, Melinda." Olivia waved in the medics to take the body to autopsy before sighing loudly. The crowd surrounding the scene wasn't dissipating and the unis were working hard to keep them back. People really wanted to get a look at this body. She walked along the edge of the thralls of civilians, being followed by Warner, but neither of them spoke. They both heard murmurs in the crowd about cults, serial killers, and gangs.

The two women found Captain Cragen talking to a reporter. He wasn't saying much, but he was making noise.

"No comment," he said, followed by, "I can't release that information."

Elliot grabbed Olivia's wrist and pulled her away from the fray. "There's a lot of talk about a serial killer."

"I know," she said.

"If the FBI gets wind of it, they'll snatch this case right out from under us."

"We've got Huang. Plus, we don't know if there's just one perp."

"Oh no, have you jumped on the cult bus?" He asked.

"Cult bus?" Warner butted in.

"Huang has been on and on about this being cult activity," he said.

"Really?" She seemed confused. She never got wind of much that went on in the precinct and she mostly stayed in autopsy, doing her paperwork and cutting up bodies.

"Do you think there's more than one perp?" Questioned Benson.

Warner crossed her arms, "Honestly, yes. At least two. One is more experienced than the other...knows more about anatomy. It's just hard to believe that more than one person can be so careful and good at not leaving a shard of trace evidence."

Elliot nodded, "It's harder to control the environment with more people."

"So we've got two or more very tidy men."

"Maybe just one man. At least one man," Warner shrugged.

Rolling his eyes, Stabler said, "She's on the cult bus now too."

"I'm not saying it's a cult. I'm just saying it's two or more people. That's all." She hitched her thumb over her shoulder, "I'm going to cut through this crowd and go with body."

The unidentified girl was being carted out in a body bag, and Olivia couldn't bring herself to look at it. She waved to Warner and then turned back to her partner, "Any information about who she is?"

He shook his head, "I was just helping with the crowd and listening to Cragen try to diffuse the situation."

"Back to the station?"

"Yeah, I'll put on the coffee."

"I'll cross my fingers that someone calls in who saw something. Anything."


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Notes:** This "story" is finished, technically. I'll post a bit at a time. I'm in the process of proofing the entire thing and looking for continuity screw-ups/details I need to fix. Listen to me, it is novel length, and it goes off the rails. I guess I'll put trigger warnings on individual chapters. Patience and forgiveness. Brain exploded in process of finishing. There might be typos.

**Chapter Twenty**

Victoria Blaylock was the third victim. The sixteen-year-old was the older sister of a boy on Alan Caper's soccer team - again connecting him to the case. The only problem was that both of his parents provided his alibi and the uni they had keeping and eye on the Caper home also stated that none of the Capers left the house during the timeframe that the crime occurred. This pretty much eliminated him as a suspect and caused all of the SVU detectives to lose their shit.

"She was killed by another precisely placed cut to her femoral artery," Warner said. "It looks like the same perp as Lindsay Borden, but not of Amelia Francis. Eyes removed premortem, tongue after...lots of scars and signs of prolonged abuse."

"DNA?" Stabler asked her, his voice pleading.

She looked down and shook her head dejectedly.

Huang had joined them around the evidence board. He looked tired, his brow furrowed and his hands deep in his pockets. He rocked back on his heels and then said, "Mind if I go out on a limb?"

"Go for it..." Olivia muttered.

"Let's say that Alan Caper is involved. He's not the ringleader. Maybe he's even who screwed up with Amelia. Whomever our leader is...whether it is a cult or just a teacher-student sort of relationship between him and Caper. I'm sure he knew we were looking at Caper and chose tonight to drop our newest vic to take our attention from Caper."

"How many girls could they be abusing right now? Why would our leader, or teacher, pick someone close to Alan again?" Munch questioned.

"Maybe they're all close to Alan? Maybe she was the last one they had left? That isn't something I can answer," Huang told him. "Honestly, I think we're being screwed with."

"What do you mean, man?" Fin then asked.

"I can't help but feel that this group...whomever or whatever they are...is trying to send a message."

"That section of Matthew from the Bible doesn't mention the tongue," Munch added.

Warner had a bit of input, "What about the basic 'see no evil, speak no evil' business?"

"Is this some sort of message about sin?" Elliot asked.

"What does Casey have to do with it?" Olivia reminded all of them.

"Casey is the only one who has received any direct messages, so maybe they want to talk to her, but why?" Huang mused.

Stabler piped up again, "Borden?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment and Huang broke the silence, "What's really confusing is the age differences of the victims."

"Everything about this is confusing," Stabler put his hands on his hips and began to pace.

"It's what really points to this being a group activity. The people involved have different preferences."

"Next a boy is going to turn up with his eyes scooped the fuck out," Elliot then grumbled, his voice absolutely seething.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"Come on, Huang..." Fin groaned at the psychiatrist.

"I'm serious-"

"We know you're serious, that's why I want you to just shut up. One thing at a time. I don't wanna think about shit that hasn't happened yet," he rubbed his head and collapsed at this desk.

Cragen skulked out of his office at about the same time and said, "The media has definitely got ahold of this case..."

"Great. Just great," Olivia let out a loud sigh.

"The whole city is going to know the three murders are connected and they'll also know about the MO..." Munch said quietly, "Maybe this can end up in our favor..."

...

Waking up at her normal hour in her Upper West Side apartment, Casey completed all of her morning rituals, including her pilates. She sipped her coffee and gathered all of her documents she had brought home, putting them safely in her briefcase. As she did so, she listened absently to the morning news in the background. It was all abuzz with news of a third murder, which was certainly connected to the two previous murders. She found herself staring at the screen, gripping her coffee mug tightly.

She shook herself out of the trance and realized the SVU detectives probably didn't sleep a wink the night before. She felt guilty having any of them come to taxi her to the DA's office and briefly considered taking a cab. She pulled her cell phone out and apprehensively dialed Olivia.

"Benson," the detective answered, not sounded exceptionally tired, which was unexpected.

"Hey, I just saw the news. I can get a ride with the uni parked outside of my building if it would be easier for you guys. I don't want to take anyone away from the investigation..."

"No, no," Olivia responded quickly. "Elliot is already on his way."

"Oh, if that's the case, nevermind."

"I've got to get back to work. Let me know if you need anything, Casey."

Novak hung up and looked at her phone for several seconds. Just as she briefly thought about taking a cab, she briefly thought about texting Alex. She had nothing to say though, which made it utterly pointless. She ended up taking the remainder of her coffee and sitting on the couch, waiting for Stabler to arrive.

...

Stabler stopped to get coffee for pretty much everyone in the precinct. Even house coffee from the cheap coffee joint between the precinct that Novak's apartment was better than the coffee from the decade-old coffee maker that the team used in the precinct. Shortly after he dropped Casey off outside of the DA's office and checked to make sure the uni was stationed where she was supposed to be to keep an eye on the place, he made his way back to the precinct and handed around the coffee.

The phone were ringing off of the hook with potential leads and various members of the unit dispersed to check them out. Cragen was hoping something would pan out from one of them and that the media getting ahold of the case wouldn't be a complete disaster. A news crew was posted up outside, but some other valiant members of the NYPD were keeping them at bay.

No one had been expecting Jordan Borden to come plowing through the doors that morning looking disheveled. "SVU. SVU," he kept saying. "I need someone from SVU. Anyone."

Olivia looked up from her desk where she had been jotting down a few notes from a phone call. She squinted at him and said, "Mr. Borden?"

"De-detective Benson," he stammered. His normally well-kept hair was a mess and his suit was severely wrinkled. He made his way over to her desk, dropped his briefcase and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Benson turned in her swivel chair to face him and still maintained the same confused expression.

"Listen to me," he said. "I think I know...something."

"Do you want to sit down?" She got up and grabbed a chair, placing it near him beside her desk, "Have a seat."

The man sat down and then said, "I have to...I have to wait for Kressler. He told me that...I had to wait for him."

She looked at him, still baffled. All of the other detectives had slipped out to pursue leads. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Cragen on the phone in his office. She then looked back at Borden, "Can you tell me what this is about?"

"Your killer...or killers. Whatever. But I-"

"You have to wait for your lawyer, I know," she nodded.

"I saw the news this morning and...and I realized something."

"I really hope you're not going to waste my time, Mr. Borden."

He looked up at her and swallowed forcefully, "I am not going to waste your time. I want you to catch the fucking sicko who killed my fucking daughter." He looked around, hoping to see that Kressler had arrived. "He said he'd meet me here. Have you seen him? Kressler."

"Nope."

"I was ten minutes away. He said he'd be right over...I rushed. I thought he'd be here."

She shook her head, "I've been here all morning. It's been a bit chaotic, but I haven't seen him. Do you want to call him?"

He hadn't seemed to have thought of that and he nodded his head and then reached inside of his crumpled jacket for his cellphone. His hands were shaking as he dialed and then continued to shake as he held it to his ear. He stared off behind Olivia and waited then he shook his head and tried again. "I called his office...got his machine. I'll try his cell..."

The results were the same and Borden looked increasingly concerned. Olivia thought it odd that Kressler would go missing, especially when needed by one of his wealthy clients. It was a bit more than odd actually. She said, "I can just take your statement if you want."

"No...no...I need Kressler." He fidgeted with his phone and then tried again. "I just talked to him!"

"Are you confessing? Are you implicating yourself?"

"Yes. No. I don't know!" He shouted then calmed himself and straightened his tie before trying to call his attorney again. "His cell phone is going straight to his voicemail now..."

Olivia rubbed her chin. "Where was he when you spoke to him?"

"He was at Starbucks up the block. He was on his way to his office. He said he'd swing by here first and meet me."

"When was this?"

"About ten minutes ago."

"Stay right here, Mr. Borden." The detective got up and put on her jacket then went to Cragen's office.

The Captain looked up and said into the phone, "Can I put you on hold for just one moment?" He did so, sat down the receiver and looked at Olivia, "Yes?"

"Mr. Borden is here and something weird is going on. I'm going to run out and up the block for a second. Make sure he doesn't leave. I think he knows something, but he won't talk to us without Kressler."

"Alright. Fill me in when you get back."

She nodded and then returned to Mr. Borden. She said, "Don't go anywhere. I'm going to go find your lawyer if I can."

He nodded back to her in response and tried his phone again. Olivia had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't like Kressler, but it was extremely unlike him to be late and to not answer his phone. Upon stepping out onto the sidewalk she heard the sirens.

She moved at a brisk walk and glimpsed the two police cars and the ambulance. Traffic was backed up and horns were honking. People were starting to cluster just outside of the coffee chain. She pulled out her badge, held it up and shouted, "Police! Let me through!"

People parted and she had to bump forcefully into other onlookers, moving faster and faster through them. She got to the point where she could see the accident and quickly surmised what happened - at least part of what happened.

Approaching one of the officers on the scene she asked, "What happened here?"

"Not entirely sure. Some people are saying a man came up and pushed that attorney right in front of that taxi."

"Where did the man go? The pusher?"

"No one knows."

"Is he alive?" She nodded toward the man being loaded into the ambulance a short distance away.

"Yeah. At the moment as far as I know. He was yelling a bit ago that he had somewhere to be."

Olivia thanked him and then pulled out her phone to call Cragen. Her gut told her that someone didn't want Kressler to get to the precinct because they didn't want anyone to find out what Borden knew.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Casey glimpsed the commotion from her office. She saw the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles and actually got up and raised her blinds to see if she could get a better look. Her curiosity got the best of her, but the view wasn't good. She couldn't tell what happened, just that there was some sort of accident. Accidents in the morning were not an uncommon thing in Manhattan, so she soon sat back down at her computer, losing interest.

The minutes ticked by and then her office phone rang. She picked it up and found that it was the admin assistant from downstairs. The mousey girl said, "Um...Jordan Borden is on the phone for you. I put him on hold and told him that I didn't think I could transfer him to you, but-"

"Hang on," Casey said. At that moment her cellphone began to ring. She looked down and didn't recognize the number. "I think he's calling my cell now. How did he get my cell number?"

"I don't know, ma'am."

She hit ignore and then said to the admin assistant, "If he calls again just call the police, ok?"

"Yes."

Shortly after she hung up the phone, her cell began to vibrate on her desk again. She assumed it to be Borden, but looked and saw that it was Olivia.

"Liv, what's up?" She answered.

"I need you to come to the precinct. I'm sorry to bother you and I'm also sorry that Borden just called you. He's with me. Well, he was. Just...just get down here. Kressler was hit by a taxi. I'll explain when you get here."

...

Borden sat in one of the interrogation rooms and Olivia gave him a stable chair instead of a wobbly one. Casey stood behind Olivia with her arms crossed and completely baffled. Borden's hands were clasped in front of him and his arms were resting on the table. He had a glass of water. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair and suit were even more of a mess than when he first stormed into the building a bit earlier.

"Look," he began, staring down at the tabletop. "Novak, I threatened you. I did. I'll admit that. Then I went to one of my...connections. I said I wanted to scare you, you know. Scare you really well...not like hang up calls and crap."

"Mmhm," she said, tapping her foot on the concrete floor.

"Go on," Olivia said to him.

"I know a guy who knows a guy...you know who it goes."

"I'm going to need names," Olivia told him.

"No, not without my lawyer. Just shut up, ok?" She shot him and glare and he continued, "The guy could apparently scare you and I wouldn't have to interrupt my schedule. I wanted him to scare you enough to get you off my nuts, lady - that's all. You got some hand up calls, you got a fax, whatever. That was part of it, but I wasn't really interested in paying..." He paused, "I only paid the guy a third of what he wanted because I wasn't pleased with the job being done to scare you." He cleared his throat, "He said he wasn't finished. I said I wouldn't pay until I was sure you weren't going to pursue the case against me."

"You said this had to do with the murders, Borden," Olivia reminded him.

He looked up, "I didn't know he'd use my daughter. I didn't know he'd put her eye on a fucking note for you. These people...they...I don't know who they are, but I saw the news this morning and realized that it was my fault...Lindsay was my fault. I wouldn't pay and..."

Olivia said again, "We need names, Borden."

"I know, but I can't. I don't have the name. I got to the man through two other people and I never met with him directly. I met with a girl. The...the...the..." He stuttered, "The girl you found last night. She was...she was, like, the messenger. In fact, she told me that was her name...The Messenger."

"How did you get in contact with these people?" Questioned Olivia, looking both disgusted and confused.

Casey's expression had not changed. She remained stern and with her arms crossed. She hadn't moved.

Borden took a deep breath, "I asked a colleague. My colleague knew another man who had worked with these people before. I was referred to that man, who then set up a meeting where I first met with the girl. I told her what I wanted and she said that her guy could do it for a price. I was given the price. This was right after the trial. I thought these people were just in the business of...harassment...not murder and not...not my daughter." He spoke quickly, pausing erratically and his hands shaking visibly. "I didn't make sense of it until...until I saw the news this morning. My daughter...I don't know...was caught up with them - these people - and then they killed her for me...because of me...I don't know."

Novak took a step forward, "Do you know what all is in this plan of theirs to scare me?"

"They wanted two million for it...for the whole installment, I guess...like, all of the aspects of the plan. It started with the phone calls, some weird faxes, weird things happening to people you know, being followed, things like that. I didn't have that much cash on me when I met with the Messenger. I gave her some and then we met again on day...the day Lindsay was killed. I refused to pay...because fucking phone calls weren't going to stop you."

"Whoa. Weird things happening to people I know?"

"Yeah. I don't know. I wanted to make it look like I had some more political connections, like, with you being followed by men in suits and stuff. I don't know. She wouldn't give me details, but said they had experience doing things like it before."

"Did they mention anyone being hurt?"

"No. I pissed them off by not paying and that was why they took Lindsay." He didn't break down, but both of the women thought he would. Instead he just quietly put his head down on his arms on the table and sat still.

ADA Novak turned on her heel and walked out of the room. Olivia turned and watched her go and then got up and followed. Casey stopped and looked through the one-way glass at Borden, her arms still crossed, but she had begun worrying at her bottom lip.

"Are you thinking this is mafia or mob related?" Olivia asked her.

"I don't know what to think yet. Book him for his stupid plot to fuck with me and get some names out of him. Get him a new attorney. Whatever you need to do. Make a deal." She looked at her watch, "I have a meeting in half an hour. Let me know if you need me." She started to walk down the hall, but then stopped and turned, "Oh, and keep me posted about Kressler."

Olivia nodded her head several times and then looked back in at Borden. It looked like he was taking a nap in the interrogation room.

Casey strutted out into the sunlight and her uni followed her, walking her back the short distance to the DA's office. Alex hadn't told her about the strange calls she had gotten and Casey thought it was time to bring it up. As she gathered the papers she needed for her meeting with her client, she called Alex and hoped she'd pick up.

Cabot answered her phone sharply, "Novak, I'm on my way to-"

"Olivia told me that you got some strange phone calls."

"It was nothing," she said.

"No, it was something. I need you to be on alert, ok? I don't know if you need a police escort like I have or not, but just...be careful."

"Want to explain? You've got about thirty seconds."

"No...no. I'll explain later."

"Ok," and then Alex hung up abruptly.

Casey looked at her phone for a short time afterward. She had a creeping feeling and then shut all of her blinds, even the ones on her door into the hallway. They had eyes everywhere after all. Whoever the fuck "they" were.

...

Olivia booked Borden and then stood and looked at the evidence board for some time. Fin came back to the precinct and noticed her standing with her hands on her hips. He cocked his head to the side and said, "Hey, Liv."

He didn't startle her and she turned slowly. "We had some developments," she said. "Do you know where Huang is?"

"You wanna tell me what happened? I didn't find shit."

"Borden is in custody-"

"That son of a bitch killed his own daughter?!" He interrupted her.

"No..." She said softly then pointed to the picture of Victoria Blaylock. "But she may have."

"Wait...what?"

Benson cleared her throat and then moved the photo from the victim side of the board to the middle of the board, next to the suspects. She picked up a marker and wrote in neat print at the bottom of the image: THE MESSENGER.

Soon the entire Special Victims Unit was up to date on the case, but no closer to solving it than they had been. Borden's stand-in lawyer while Kressler was hospitalized advised him not to cooperate, but he was so bent out of shape that he went ahead and dropped the name of his colleague: Russell Schand. The new player in the game was stockbroker, but he was on vacation that week and was proving difficult to track down.

As the day ticked on and the detectives attempted to ascertain the whereabouts of Schand, Casey also recused herself from the case after having a long lunch with Judge Donnelly. The lunch was spontaneous and resulted from the two women running into one another in the elevator, both having decided to take lunch at the same time.

Their conversation started as strictly business and then drifted into the talk going around the DA's office and then to the presence of Alexandra Cabot.

"I've heard that you two have been seeing a lot of each other," Donnelly said almost nonchalantly. "Is she giving you pointers about getting back into the SVU saddle?"

Casey was a bit caught off guard, "I...I suppose so, yes."

"Don't go onto the defensive, Casey. I was only wondering why Alex has taken an interest in you."

She looked down and forked at the remaining portions of her lunch.

"I didn't mean that like I said it either," Donnelly said apologetically. "When Alex got back into town she came by my office, but I was on my way out. We swore to get lunch, but our schedules just didn't mesh this time." She shrugged and sipped her tea.

"She'll be back in two weeks."

"I also see that you know her schedule."

"Are you implying something?" Casey snapped a bit, feeling self-conscious.

"There you go, on the defensive again. Is there something you want to talk about, Casey?" Her tone was suddenly more motherly.

"I just don't know what you're implying, Liz."

The judge laughed a bit, "Casey, I'm not implying anything. I'm glad the both of you have seen fit to become friends is all."

"Why?"

Laughing again, she said, "Because you are both going to go insane without having some sort of life outside of your work. I'm afraid that all either of you talk about is your work though."

"That's not true."

"Well, then." Donnelly seemed pleased.

Casey sat quietly and still wondering if Donnelly knew more than she was letting on. She wondered if anyone in the DA's office was even aware of Alex's dating habits, if they could be considered habits, seeing as she so rarely dated. Casey felt like she and Donnelly were having some sort of stand off, but then she chalked it up to her own paranoia.

Donnelly was watching her, studying her in a way. She had known Casey for long enough that she was accustomed to most of her quirks and odd behavior. Her strange response to her friendship with Alex was something new. Donnelly chalked it up to Casey not having many friends, but there seemed to be something more to it. Admittedly, she found it amusing how pointlessly flustered the ADA was getting over something so trivial.

"Is there something else you want to talk about, Casey?" She asked her again, leaning forward slightly, looking intrigued and being endlessly pleasant.

Eyeing her suspiciously and wondering if Donnelly knew more, suspected more or if she was just seeing these things, she responded with her own question. She leaned forward as well and whispered, "Did you know that Alex dates women?"

Donnelly suddenly cocked her head to the side and her eyes narrowed. She pursed her lips, finding herself caught off guard then. "Are you implying something now, Novak?"

"What?" Casey responded confusedly. "I was assuming you knew..."

"I..." Donnelly started, but then stopped, completely thrown for a loop by the direction their conversation had taken.

"Oh my God, did I just out Alex?" Casey covered her mouth. "I am the worst person in the world."

"No, no, no," the judge recovered quickly, seeing that Novak may have a meltdown in the restaurant. "I've known Alex a long time and she has confided a fair number of things in me. Don't worry about that. That's not it. What surprised me is that she told you. How close are you and Alex?"

Casey looked at her blankly.

"Alex is an extremely private person. You must be very close."

She felt slightly relieved that she'd not just spilled the beans about Alex and she understood the need for privacy very much. It was a miserable fact of life in the present day that, despite some decent strides in progress, that a lesbian prosecutor for the International Criminal Court would be treated differently - not necessarily better either. That was Casey's own fear, wasn't it? She didn't want attention for being a lesbian ADA. She wanted attention for her merits and nailing awful bastards who gouged out girls' eyes.

"You are also a private person..." Donnelly observed. "What is the nature of your relationship with Ms. Cabot?"

"Yes. I..." Casey let her mouth hang over and leaned forward again to whisper, "I might be dating Alex Cabot."

Donnelly cocked her head again and made much the same expression she had made before and then she whispered in response, "Might be? What does that mean?"

Novak didn't answer.

"Are you not sure?" Elizabeth Donnelly's expression hinted of concern with a fair dash of amusement, but mainly curiosity.

Casey shrugged.

"I'm presently not sure why you shared this with me, Casey, but-"

"You asked me if there was anything else I wanted to talk about." Casey responded, hissing between her teeth as she said it.

Donnelly paused, "I did, but I honestly didn't expect any of the things that subsequently came out of your mouth."

"Most everything came out of your mouth, Liz."

She shrugged.

"I'm also surprised it came out of my mouth," Casey added.

The server came by their table and their conversation came to an abrupt halt, "Can I get you two anything else?"

"The check," Donnelly responded quickly. "Together please and two more cups of coffee before we go."

"Liz-"

"Quiet, Novak."

The server nodded politely and left their company. Judge Donnelly waited a moment before she continued, "I'm not sure if the most confusing thing about this is that it's happening at all or that you don't know if you're dating someone or not."

"Jesus Christ, Liz!" Casey raised her voice, but corrected it quickly, "Are you trying to make me feel more overly self-aware than I already do? I practically just got back from being suspended, everyone in the office thinks I'm incompetent, and now I need to recuse myself from everything having to do with this cult activity or whatever it is because of Borden. Can you not just say something nice to me?"

"Alex was engaged to someone I like less than you," Donnelly paused long enough to watch Casey's face droop and then she added, "I'm joking, Novak. Somewhat. I did like him less than I like you."

"And it really isn't good for morale to be berated by your superior over lunch," she retorted half-heartedly.

"I've found this lunch quite refreshing. I'm fairly certain I can go back to work with a new perspective on everything because you might or might not be dating someone."

"I really feel like you're making fun of me, Liz."

"I am, Casey, I am. I've been in your shoes before, remember? Well...not exactly your shoes because they seem much more confusing, but you know what I mean, I hope."


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Mr. Schand's eyes were wide and his receding hairline appeared to have receded another inch as Stabler told him he needed to come down to the precinct to answer some questions. Schand's vacation consisted of lurking all day at a bar a few blocks from his brownstone. His wife left him years before and he needed some time off, but had no interest in traveling farther than the bar.

The sun was just setting, but Schand was already in a drunken state to say the least. He stammered to Elliot, "Is this...is this about B-b-borden?"

Elliot looked at him sternly, "Just come down to the precinct. I'll get you some water and we can talk about it."

"Am I under arrest?"

"Not yet, no."

He trembled as he hopped down from the bar stool. "I didn't know that would happen. I only...I only knew that they'd done some work for Greg. He mentioned them."

Stabler supported the little man, holding his elbow, "Greg?"

"Greg. Greg. Yes. Greg McDonald. Gregory."

"Tell me more about Greg."

"He was involved in some insider trading and he...he said he hired these people and they scared everyone off of his trail."

"Where can we find Greg?"

"His house? On...on 81st. Yes, 81st."

Elliot grunted and said, "Alright." He shoved one of his cards into Schand's coat pocket and helped him back up to his seat at the bar. "Call me if you think of anything when you're sober and you better not go missing if I need to find you again."

"I'll either be here or at my house." He signaled for the bartender to bring him another drink and nodded nervously at Elliot, but adamantly. Elliot moved quickly out of the bar and pulled out his phone to get someone to figure out where on 81st this Gregory McDonald lived.

...

Gregory McDonald immediately called his lawyer as soon as Fin and Munch arrived at his door, despite them expressing that he was not under arrest - they had much bigger fish to fry and insider trading didn't matter to either of them. He refused to come out or speak to them until his lawyer arrived, whom he apparently had on retainer. The man was as paranoid as Schand was drunk.

Fin and Munch waited on his stoop for his lawyer and Fin said, "You suppose he thinks we're actually here about this insider trading business?"

Munch looked at his partner, "Maybe he's paranoid that "they" are going to come for him if he talks?"

He laughed, "But he paid 'em. He didn't short change 'em like Borden, did he?"

"Don't know. He isn't talking to us."

"There's his man now," Fin looked over his shoulder toward the shiny red Lexus that pulled up behind their car on the street.

The two men stood and greeted a man they were both familiar with. Jason Whitaker looked confused, smiled widely and said, "SVU? Here? What's going on? My client barely leaves the house, so I'm pretty sure he didn't rape anyone."

"He's not even under arrest," Munch hitched his thumb toward the brownstone. "We think he can point us in the direction of whomever is behind a case we're working."

"The cult thing?" Whitaker asked, looking more confused and sticking out his bottom lip.

"Aren't you an estate lawyer?" Fin asked the young, handsome man not answering his question.

"I handle Mr. McDonald's estate and I thought that was what this was about," he continued smiling and rang the doorbell. "Greg, I'm here."

The door opened a crack and Whitaker waved at his client. "Should I talk to them?" He whispered to his lawyer, "I'm not sure if I should."

Fin and Munch exchanged a quick glance and Munch smirked.

"You can talk to them," Whitaker whispered back. "Can we all come in? It should only take a few minutes."

The door opened revealing a very haggard man. He was young, but looked prematurely aged. He had bags under his eyes and his dark hair was patchy and stringy. Immediately when the detectives stepped inside they smelled the musty, old stench of too much accumulated junk. There were piles and piles of newspapers on either side of the foyer, stacks of magazines and a number of boxes that were all taped shut as if he were either moving or just moved in.

Greg led them into what was once a kitchen and they all sat down at what was once a table.

"Simply put Mr. McDonald, we're here because we need to get in touch with the people you know who are in the business of "scaring" people," Munch made quotations with his fingers.

Fin added, "Your pal Russell referred his pal Jordan Borden to you and you arranged a meeting with these people."

"Whoa. Whoa. What does this have to do with exactly?" Whitaker asked, still smiling.

"It has to do with what we said," Fin answered quickly, still watching McDonald.

McDonald began to anxiously run his hands through his hair and he said in a mousy voice, "No."

"Can I confer with my client for a moment?" Whitaker asked them.

"He isn't under arrest. We just need a name or how to get in touch with these people, man."

"Calm down, Fin," Munch squeezed his shoulder firmly.

Whitaker guided McDonald through some towers of junk and they whispered to one another in what may have once been a pantry. They came back after only a few seconds of conferring.

Whitaker smiled and said, "My client fears for his life if he leads you to these people."

"Well, then he can come down to the station and we can arrange for protection after we get his statement," Munch said, rather kindly, but looking McDonald in the eyes.

McDonald looked at his lawyer and nodded just slightly causing Fin and Munch to exchange another subtle glance.

Whitaker got up and said, "He'll ride with me and we'll meet you at the precinct. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I'll talk to him on the way."

The detectives went back out to the car and waited for several minutes for Whitaker and McDonald to come out. They didn't speak, but they were both suspicious that the two were going to hole themselves up in the brownstone and never come out. Then they would need a warrant.

McDonald came out beneath a huge pea coat that was much too large for him and he wore a dark hat as well. Whitaker looked both ways down the sidewalk before escorting the man to his car.

"Whitaker's being awful cooperative..." Fin commented.

"He's a trust and estate lawyer and his client isn't being prosecuted. I still don't trust him as far as I can throw him," Munch started the car and followed Whitaker's Lexus, making sure they went to the precinct and they did.

McDonald was taken into Cragen's office instead of one of the uncomfortable and uninviting interrogation rooms. He was offered water and soda, which he declined. He asked very quietly while staring at the carpet, "Will I really be safe?"

"Yes, we're making arrangements right now," the Captain told him, assuredly.

Elliot and Olivia were hovering outside of the room with Huang. Everyone had a feeling in their guts that this man was about to break the case wide open.

Once he had been reassured regarding his safety several times he began a very strange tale, which began with, "I met them at church..."

...

Casey went home accompanied by the police officer after getting word that Kressler was stable, but hadn't woken up yet. She felt a lot better with Borden in custody, someone else dealing with him and also someone else dealing with all of the serial killing, rapist, cult business.

She changed out of her suit and into a pair of sweatpants before pouring herself a glass of bourbon and sitting down on the couch to look over a few case files. She took a sip of her drink and considered calling Alex to tell her about the day, leaving out the lunch with Donnelly. Thinking about lunch with Donnelly made her reconsider making the call at all. With Borden behind bars and him not having paid the people to finish their job, Alex was not likely in any danger anyway.

Laying a few documents out beside her on the couch, holding her drink in one hand and a pen in the other, she started jotting a few notes in the margins, underlining here and there. She finished her drink and several pages when her phone rang from the coffee table.

She groaned, putting her pen behind her ear and answered, "Hey, Alex."

"What did you want to talk to me about? I have a few minutes before I have to pop into this gala."

"Oh, nothing."

"You sounded a little worried earlier..."

"Liv mentioned that you got some odd phone calls. I think they were related to my odd phone calls, which were related somewhat to the murders, but it's under control. I recused myself from everything related to it. That's all."

Alex made a pensive noise then asked, "How was lunch with Donnelly today?"

"Fine," she said quickly. "How did you know I had lunch with Donnelly?"

"Steele mentioned it."

"Steele?"

"Yeah, I ran into him a minute ago. He's at this gala too. Can you tell Donnelly that I'll give her a call as soon as I get back from DC and that I'm sorry we couldn't get together?"

"Tell her yourself."

Alex blinked a few times on the other end of the line. She was standing outside of the building where the charity gala was being held, watching other guests trickle in. She was giving a speech after the dinner. "Sorry," she said. "I can send her an email. I just thought you'd see her tomorrow, you know...working in the same building and all."

"Sorry," Casey muttered and followed it quickly with, "Call me when you get back and we'll handle that dinner I owe you."

"Ok...well, do you want me to stop by after I'm done here. I think I can-"

"No. I have some work to do. I'll talk to you later," Casey said. Before she hung up she heard Jim in the background beckoning Alex to go ahead and come inside because the event was about to start. She reached for her glass before realizing it was empty. Before getting up to refill it, she grumbled, "I'm not jealous."


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Note:** omg thanks for the reviews I've already gotten in the midst my binge posting. Alex/Casey shippers are few and far between and you are all so nice. xoxo

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Jim Steele held the door for Alex as she tucked her phone into her purse. He handed her a glass of champagne, which she took with a smile. He said, "I honestly didn't think you'd come back to all of the politics after being Bureau Chief."

"I haven't come back to the politics. It's an unfortunate side-effect of trying to help people."

He laughed slightly, "What was that phone call about? You looked pretty serious."

"It was nothing," she shook her head and started to take a drink from the crystal flute.

"I'm pretty excited about your speech," he mumbled.

"Me too," she said blandly. "How are things down at the Bureau anyway?"

"Ah, same old, same old." It was obvious that neither of them were particularly interested in talking to the other about their current jobs. Alex picked up on it quickly and wondered why they were talking at all.

Alex cleared her throat and said, "I guess I should go find my table. It was nice to see you."

"Oh, you're at my table. They seemed to have lumped all of the attorneys together because we know each other."

"Wonderful," she reacted with less enthusiasm and followed him to the table where McCoy was also sitting. She had known he would be present, but had not anticipated the event organizers to sit them together. She saw a lot of familiar faces around the huge room, most of whom she hadn't seen since taking her leave of absence from SVU. She slapped on her best Ice Queen smile and resisted the urge to down the rest of her champagne all at once.

The menial law chit-chat was draining. Her speech about the indignities suffered by women in the Congo went as well as it could have gone, she assumed. Afterward she stealthily swallowed some more champagne and mingled with everyone she was supposed to mingle with. She completed her checklist and attempted to slink out when Jim caught her again.

"Heading out early?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I need to get some rest. DC tomorrow."

"Ah...you did mention that."

"Yeah, I sure did."

"Going out on a limb here, but would you like to go get a drink with me at the place on the corner?"

She considered it, reconsidered it, and then said, "Jim...you and I...it was a long time ago, and I..." She shook her head, "It was..."

"The past is the past. I know that a lot of what happened with us was-"

"Bad. Bad, is the word you're looking for and also the word I was looking for. I'm not interested."

Jim clinched his jaw and clearly had more to say. Alex waited with her eyebrows raised, seeing that he was trying to form something eloquent. He swirled his remaining champagne and then said, "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to be so forward and I thought that we could maybe have a fresh start."

"Thank you, Jim. I appreciate the sentiments, I do."

He sighed and took the last drink of his champagne then rubbed his smoothly-shaven chin and sat the empty glass down on the tray of a passing server. He took a deep breath and Alex expected a more verbose display, but instead all he said was, "How about drinks as a friend? You can tell me about ICC and I can tell you about the rookies at the Bureau."

She rubbed the back of her neck and said, "One drink. On you. If I can make a call first."

"Deal," he said with an accepting half-smile.

Alex slipped over to the side and tried to call Casey again. She tapped her foot and waited as it rang. Casey eventually picked up and Alex quickly said, "I'm done and I can grab a cab and maybe pick up-"

"Alex," she sighed. "I told you I have work to do."

"If I don't come over I won't have an excuse not to go have a drink with Jim."

"Just go have a drink with him."

"I would rather-"

"We'll get together when you get back. I'm going to finish what I'm doing and then probably go to bed early for once." Then she hung up.

She noted that she sounded angry. She didn't know why. She also noted that Jim Steele was waiting patiently at the door for her to finish her phone call. She gave him a closed-lip smile and he held the door for her again. She didn't know if she could handle any more menial yammering, but a free drink before she returned alone to her hotel room would be nice.

"So that phone call..." Jim was leading the conversation somewhere that she wasn't interested in it going.

"I had some tentative plans this evening." She answered him sharply and rapped her fingers on the wooden top of the bar.

He nodded, but didn't pry. "Do you plan on going back to SVU or..."

She was getting annoyed by each of his sentences trailing off. She shook her head, "Not until I'm done making some headway for under-represented women in third-world countries. Did you even listen to my speech?"

Clearing his throat and turning to face her, he straightened his tie and said, "I was just wondering because Novak-"

"What about Novak?"

"I just heard she's been floundering since she came back. She's thinking about going back to white collar. As far as I can tell, she's-"

"Stop," she said firmly, sounding more appalled than she meant to.

"Whoa. Sorry," he put his hands up in a motion of surrender. "She had that mistrial recently and recused herself from the huge serial murder case today."

Alex pushed her glasses up the bridge of her news and took a deep, long drink before slamming down the tumbler. Then she said, "Do you even know anything about either of those cases? Are you seriously trying to bond with me by needlessly making a mockery of one of your own colleagues and someone that I personally consider a friend?"

He realized then that she was displeased and he nervously rubbed his brow, "I'm sorry, that was stupid."

"Yes, it was. Thank you for the drink, but now I'll be leaving."

"Alex, wait a second," he said, getting to his feet as she started to leave.

"What else could you possibly have to say, Jim? Are you going to ask me out again, despite the fact that I have already expressed my disinterest or are you going to continue to make fun of Novak? By the way, she still has the best conviction rate in the Office."

"This is just...much more awkward than I had anticipated."

"No kidding," she stormed out of the bar and into the artificial light on the sidewalk. Her phone rang and she answered it without hesitation, assuming it to be Casey, hopefully changing her mind about a quick visit. Alex merely wanted to complain about the gala and now about Jim Steele. She answered, "Hello?"

No one said anything in response, but she heard some rustling in the background. She pulled the phone away from her ear and saw that the number was actually unavailable, not Casey at all.

"Hello?" She said again as she hailed a cab from the corner.

"We see you," a voice said, clearly using a modification device.

She let out a muffled gasp, nearly dropping her phone. She showed no other signs of panic and looked around slowly without hanging up and getting into the cab that pulled up a moment later. Once she was safe and alone in the backseat she watched her phone and waited for the dialer to hang up. Immediately, she dialed the precinct to have someone look into the trace she'd thankfully had put on her phone already. She hoped that the call was long enough to do some good.

A few minutes later, police cars swarmed the block looking for any sort of suspicious person at about the same moment that Mr. McDonald finished explaining everything that he knew.

...

Casey woke up before her alarm went off, feeling a distinct pang of regret, along with very distinct memories of a very vivid dream. She pushed both from her mind and dragged herself out of bed to start a pot of coffee. She showered and then paced in her bathrobe as the sun came up over the city. She looked out of her window and saw the patrol car sitting below.

She then spent a fair amount of time looking at her cell phone on the counter before she got ready. Olivia called and asked if she was getting a ride with uni to the DA's Office and Casey asked her how much longer she needed the added security.

"Oh, my God. Are you serious?" She gasped when the detective told her about the latest development in the case she was no longer a part of, due to her literally being a part of it. "Is Alex ok?"

"She's fine. Probably boarding her flight right now. We grabbed some coffee this morning."

"This morning? At, like, four or what?"

"Yeah, it was around then. I didn't sleep well last night. Neither did Alex. What I can't figure out is why they're going after her to get to you."

Casey said nothing.

"Do they think she's the only person you're friends with? What about your family?"

"I don't know, Liv."

Their conversation didn't get much farther. Casey opted to ride in with the uni so not to waste resources. She took a deep breath and called Alex. As she expected, it went straight to her voicemail and she left a message.

"Hi," she began. "It's Casey Novak." She winced at her habitual message greeting. "You're on your flight, but I just talked to Olivia and she told me what happened last night. If you want to give me a call when you land - you can call my office...or later this evening. Uh, well...I'll talk to you then...later. I hope." She tried to smile as she said the last bit, wanting to sound like she actually did want to hear from Alex.

When she reached the DA's office she carried on past her own floor and knocked lightly on Judge Donnelly's door.

Donnelly looked at her over the top of her glasses, but didn't say anything.

"Alex wanted me to tell you she's sorry she couldn't catch up with you this week, but she definitely will as soon as she gets back."

"Thank you for acting as Cabot's messenger, Novak."

Casey nodded and then said, "Have a good day."

"You too, Novak."

About an hour and a half later, Casey's phone on her desk rang.

"Novak," she answered on speaker.

"Call on line one from Alex Cabot," the secretary told her.

"Thanks." She cleared her throat and then took the call, "Hey-"

"You wouldn't talk to me for a minute when you were off work and sitting at home, but you don't mind me calling you at work? Do you feel you need to be getting paid when you talk to me?" Alex said to her, rather harshly.

"No...I..."

"Sorry, that was a joke."

"Look, I'm sorry about last night."

"Are you apologizing for the menacing phone call I received because we've been seen together or are you apologizing for being unpleasant to me yourself?"

"Both?" She answered unsurely.

"Well, listen. I need to grab my bags and go check in to my hotel then run to a meeting. Can I call you later tonight?"

"Yeah. Sure." Then quickly she said, "I relayed your message to Liz this morning. She seemed annoyed by my existence."

"Oh. No, it was probably because I also sent her an email this morning and she just thinks you're weird."

"Thanks..."

"You're welcome. I'll talk to you tonight." She said cheerfully then she hung up before Casey could actually say goodbye again.

At about the time that the call ended, Casey's fax machine started to ring and then it spewed out a sheet of paper. She casually walked over and picked it up and then her voice caught in her throat as she said, "Oh, fuck."

The paper fell from her hands and fluttered to the floor. The bold writing across the sheet was easy to read and said:

_BUT THE LORD IS WITH ME AS A MIGHTY TERRIBLE ONE, THEREFORE MY PERSECUTORS SHALL STUMBLE, AND THEY SHALL NOT PREVAIL._


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

McDonald, like Borden, was unaware of the connection between the scare tactic group and the murders until the Messenger turned up dead. Most of McDonald's interactions had also been with Victoria, but he did meet another member of the nameless group on one very brief occasion.

In the midst of the insider trading scandal, McDonald became desperate enough to go to church and pray to get away with his crimes. He found himself in an Evangelical establishment and instead of finding God, he found a man who introduced himself only as Paul. Paul directed Greg to a particular location in Central Park, very close to where Victoria's body had been found.

He was told to go there and pray and that someone would come speak to him who could help him to put the fear of God in her persecutors. He was just desperate enough to try it.

He remembered several people passing him while he was in the park on the following afternoon saying his prayers. One of the people dropped a folded piece of paper telling him a second location and time in order to meet with the Messenger. The time was only a short time later. He then went to that location where he ended up speaking with Victoria Blaylock. She established the terms of his agreement and set up another meeting to collect the funds.

"She said two million dollars and my soul were the price of my freedom..." Greg gasped out. "I paid them and everything panned out, but the Messenger gave me one more message..."

"What was it?" Munch asked, encouraging him to finish.

"She said that one day they would need to collect my soul."

McDonald started seeing people everywhere and they were always watching him. His increasing paranoia made him believe they were a part of the group and he slowly withdrew into seclusion. He began day trading from his home in order to feel safe. He wanted SVU to put a stop to these people because they terrified him. He said that he was never sure if they were really dangerous until the Messenger was killed and then he knew and he realized what had happened with Lindsay Borden as well.

He had been concerned that Fin and Munch were actually sent by the organization to collect his soul, though he was not entirely sure what that collection process entailed. He gave them very precise locations of all of his meetings as well as a description of this person named Paul, which was used to create a sketch. He unfortunately didn't see who dropped the paper for him and had thrown it away. After everything was said and done he was put up in a hotel with a uni outside for protection.

As he was being escorted out, Whitaker stopped by the vending machine and began dropping in change for a candy bar. He said to Munch as he passed, "I thought he'd just gone crazy, honestly."

"This doesn't mean he hasn't gone crazy," Munch told him and then kept walking.

Fin said, "What I'm wondering is if Borden also sold his soul..."

...

Canvassing for the enigmatic Paul was taking place when Casey got the fax. Response time was much faster and patrol cars swarmed the print shop where the fax was sent from much in the same fashion that they had arrived on the scene of where Alex received her strange call.

"Jeremiah 20:11," Munch said as he looked at the fax.

Olivia was sitting next to Casey on the couch in her office and Elliot was pacing and grumbling, "How many of them are there?"

"They want to create an appearance of omniscience," Munch told him.

"No shit and they're doing a damn good job!" Elliot snapped. "And Casey just got a death threat from these lunatics!"

Fin walked in and said, "The guy working at the print shop said a little girl came in, paid in cash and said she needed to fax something, said she knew how to work the machine and didn't need any help."

"A little girl?" Elliot asked, his voice nearly a squeal.

"Yeah. About eight or nine," Fin said with a sigh. "And she left right before the uniforms got to the scene. We got a description, but I doubt it'll do much good."

Casey let out a loud and annoyed groan before leaning her head back and staring up at the ceiling. "I can't believe Borden set this shit in motion and we can't stop it."

"Hey, let's talk to whomever was investigating McDonald's insider trading and see what this group's tactics are. Maybe we can be prepared for whatever they throw at us next," Olivia suggested to the other detectives.

Everyone pretty much agreed, but didn't have much hope that it would actually lead anywhere. Casey cancelled all of her meetings for the day, packed up her briefcase, locked her office and then let Olivia take her to a hotel.

"Huang said that things are personal now and they're likely going to behave differently than they planned according to Borden's arrangement..."

"Great. That bodes well for me," Casey mumbled as they rode in the car. "Do you think Alex is ok in Washington?"

"Do you think they'd follow her to DC just to harass you?"

"I don't know what to think, Liv. They have eyes everywhere and all."

Olivia sighed slightly, "So Huang says that we might be getting close to catching them and they're trying to get us to back off. That's sort of good, right?"

"Sort of," she forced an agreement. "Can you hang out for a little while when we get there?"

"Yeah. I'll need to brief the uni anyway. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Nothing in particular, no."

They pulled up to the hotel and Olivia helped Casey with her bags. She only packed two plus her briefcase. The hotel room was alright. It wasn't Alex's suite, but it would do for the next few days. She was hoping there would be an epic break in a case, an even more epic one than what unfolded with Greg McDonald. If they could just catch one of the people in this group, they could break him and then get them all. Then she could go back to her life and more easily determine whether or not she was dating Alex Cabot and if she even wanted to date Alex Cabot at all.

"Novak?"

Casey realized she'd been staring off at the window and thinking absently about Alex. She turned and looked at Olivia apologetically. She sat her bag down on the bed and then took her briefcase to the desk. She looked down at the desk and said, "There is something I want to talk about, but I'm afraid it pales in comparison to everything else going on."

"What is it, Case?" Olivia sounded concerned. She always sounded somewhat concerned, but it was cranked up a few extra notches and she got that glossy, worried look in her eyes.

"Nevermind," she immediately regretted mentioning it. She had no idea what she planned to say as it was anyway.

"If there's something you need to talk about-"

"It's nothing like that..." She walked to the window and looked out at the view of the street below for a moment before drawing the curtains closed. She kept her back to Olivia. "Nothing's wrong, per se...aside from some sort of bizarre cult wanting me out of the picture."

"Are you planning on leaving SVU?"

"What? No." She turned around, "I mean, maybe I should if everything is going to be like this."

"Are you...terminally ill?"

"No. Jesus. I said nothing was wrong."

"Then what is it?"

Casey didn't know what to do with her arms, so she left them stiffly at her sides as she took a deep breath and said, "I might be dating someone."

Detective Benson opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"That wasn't the response I expected," Casey was mildly disappointed and then sat on the edge of the bed with her hands in her lap.

"How? How do you have time? Between how much you work and then spending all of your free time with Alex, how do you possibly have time? And who? Christ, are you dating someone online? Don't you know the dangers of the-"

"Stop, Liv," she spoke quietly, hopelessly.

Olivia didn't stop, "What does 'might be dating someone' even mean? Are you just sleeping with someone? Is it a suspect? Detective Jeffries and..."

Casey rubbed her temples, "Don't worry about it. Forget I mentioned it. I need to wrap up some work from the office and reschedule my meetings from today."

"How in the world are you dating someone with everything going on?"

"Exactly. I'm not. Not really. I don't even know if I want to."

"Who..." One of Olivia's eyes closed a bit more than the other as she squinted at Casey. She shifted around, but remained standing. She put her hands into her pockets then took one out and stood there like that for a few seconds. "I heard someone sent you bread and flowers...was that..."

Looking down at her hands, the attorney said nothing. Olivia wasn't forming complete sentences.

"Casey, are you sure that this person isn't somehow connected with..."

She looked up and still didn't say anything as Benson's voice trailed off again as she seemed to lose her train of thought.

"I've never known you to actually, really date anyone. There was only...Charlie."

Finally speaking, she only meekly said, "Yeah, it has been some years I guess."

"Is it someone you work with? Is it a defense attorney? I feel like I'm playing twenty questions here. Give me a hint or something. Is it someone I know?"

Casey kept her lips tightly sealed and looked away from Olivia again.

"Is it a real person?"

This prompted Casey to look back at her again and roll her eyes.

"You can't tell me this and then not actually tell me. Come on." Her hands were on her hips again and she took a step closer to the bed like she was about to turn on her rare "bad cop" persona.

"You were wondering why Alex is being targeted..."

"Because she's...oh." Olivia's voice was flat and deep for the final word of sudden understanding.

"So there's that."

Olivia then sat down on the side of the king-sized bed perpendicular to Casey. Awkward silence engulfed the room. Casey began picking at her fingernails and wondering why Olivia wasn't talking. She immediately regretted the confession. She thought it would be somehow liberating, but it wasn't. She trusted Olivia, pretty much more than anyone else in her life, but now there was this looming ominous presence hanging over them.

"Son of a bitch," the detective finally said. "Elliot was right."

"Right about what?"

"Softball," she said with a laugh.

"No...don't start talking about stereotypes."

"I owe him twenty bucks now."

"Are you kidding?"

"Unfortunately, no. I really wasn't expecting Alex..."

"Why is everyone so surprised about that?"

"Everyone?" Olivia whirled around, "How many people have you told?"

Casey paused, "You and well...Judge Donnelly deduced it by asking me loaded questions then answering them herself."

"Alex sent you flowers and bread?"

She nodded sheepishly.

Olivia began to reminisce for a moment, "She always brought me coffee."

"What?"

"Oh, I like men. Alex is very-"

"Persistent."

"Yes and I was also going to say that she's a good friend."

"I don't really know what I'm doing."

"With women?"

Casey forced a laugh, "Yes, that. Mainly though I'm talking about dating. The fact that this is happening in the middle of all of this other mess isn't helping

"We're going to keep you safe. Alex is going to be safe-"

"Don't tell anyone, Liv..."

"Of course not."

Novak let out a huge sigh of relief and then slumped her head forward between her knees, feeling all of the awful thought she was having subside. "Thanks, Liv. I don't even know if...I just don't know."

Olivia laughed again and patted her on the back, "Your uni should be here by now. Do you want me to stay longer?"

"I need to work and you need to catch bad guys. Alex is supposed to call me tonight," Casey remained slumped over as she was. "It's really weird to think about and I'd like to stop thinking about it for a while."

Laughing again, Detective Benson said, "I can't believe Alex didn't mention it to me. I'm a little hurt. I thought we were closer."

"Stop laughing. You're making me feel like a child."

Olivia did her best to make her laugher subside and she reminded her, "If you need anything, call."


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

The church where McDonald met Paul was, of course, the same church attended by the Capers, linking Alan Caper back to the crimes yet again. No one believed it was any sort of coincidence. Fin and Munch took the sketch to the pastor of the church while Elliot scoured each of the meeting locations where McDonald met with Victoria, as well as the place mentioned by Borden where he had his rendezvous with her.

"Are you familiar with this man?" Munch asked the older gentleman and held up the picture. "His name might be Paul."

"No, his name is not Paul..." The aged minister said, folding his newspaper and looking sternly at the detectives. "That is Franklin Barbary. He leads the Wednesday night youth meeting and is the adult Sunday school teacher."

"Can you tell us where to find this Franklin Barbary?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you believe he's done. He is an upstanding citizen and a dedicated member of this congregation."

"Sir," Fin began. "A little girl named Amelia Francis attended this church with her mother until she was killed."

"Yes..." His eyes fell and he cleared his throat. "That was a great loss that we all felt. It's always-"

"We don't really have time for a sermon," Munch interrupted. "We have reason to believe that the man in this picture was involved. Franklin Barbary."

The man's eyes narrowed, "I should have his home address, but I assure you he had nothing to do with any of those horrendous crimes. I have known him for nearly thirty years." He got up from his chair and stretched, his back creaking, but all the noise it made did nothing for the crook that slumped his shoulders far forward. "Mr. Barbary's family moved to the city and he brought them to the church. He has spread the Word to so many and made them all part of our family in Jesus. His youngest sister..." The old man began shuffling through his apartment and headed into a makeshift office and he continued rambling, "His sister, her husband and their son. They moved to the city and he brought them into our folds. They pulled their son from secular school and began homeschooling him, so that he could live right by the Lord."

"The Capers?" Munch asked him very apprehensively, not sure if he was going to be correct or not.

The man looked up from the papers he rustled around on his desk and his eyes seemed to become beadier, "Yes. How did you know?"

"Just get us that address or a phone number. Anything you have," Fin said firmly.

The minister started flipping through a rolodex that looked nearly as old as he did. He pulled a card from it and held it tightly between his fingers. Before he handed it over, he said, "I don't know why he would tell anyone his name was Paul. He was a doctor in the Army."

With every word from the confused and disgruntled old paster, pieces began to fall into place. Fin took the information from him, thanked him and hoped it was current. Munch had pulled out his phone and was dialing it before they even got to the door leading out of the apartment.

"We've got an address and bring in Alan Caper. Bring in his whole family," he said.

Fin got into the driver's seat of the sedan as Munch shared the news. He jammed the address from the rolodex card into the GPS. As soon as his parter's seatbelt was on he pulled into the street and they were on their way.

Elliot dropped everything he was doing and went went to the Caper's. He knew that Alan and Mrs. Caper would be home. Mr. Caper would have to be brought in from work, but Elliot really wanted to get his hands on the kid that eluded them so smoothly before.

Mrs. Caper was oddly cooperative, but seemed even colder and more overbearing than during their last encounter. She said, "Just let me get my purse, detective."

Detective Stabler watched her from the doorway as she retreated farther inside. Alan waited sheepishly at the door. They weren't under arrest, not quite yet, but it was now only a matter of time. Stabler watched Mrs. Caper closely as she appeared to send a text message on her phone before dropping it into her bag. He also noted that Alan was continually smoothing out his sweatshirt and he kept pulling it down though it had not ridden up. Nervous habit, he thought at first, but then he thought it might be something else - something incriminating.

On his way back to the precinct he called in and said for someone to get Mrs. Caper's phone records.

Meanwhile, Fin and Munch found only a vacant lot at the address of Paul, also known as Franklin Barbary. Fin grumbled angrily, "Figures. He planned for this. He's been plannin' for this."

"His number is a bust too," Munch told him. "Disconnected."

"Let's follow up on McDonald's people real fast so we can see who we're playin' with."

The older detective agreed. At about the same time, Olivia was leaving Casey to her work in her hotel room. She spoke for a while with the officer and then received a phone call from Cragen.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Borden's dead," he said quickly. "We're looking into it."

"What? How?"

"Not sure. Not many details yet. He was due to be arraigned. It may not be related to any of this. The initial report is that he just dropped dead on his way to his arraignment. His lawyer was with him."

"My gut says it is related..."

He agreed for once saying, "Mine too."

"How's McDonald?"

"Fine. He's fine. Elliot's bringing in Alan Caper and his mother. He thinks they're both involved."

"I'll head back to the house and you can fill me in."

...

Huang stood in front of the evidence board. His hands were deep in his pockets and he rocked back and forth on his heels. Cragen had come out of his office in a huff and added a few things hastily to the board as he stood there, thinking.

No one was around, but he began rattling off facts aloud, "Amelia was the first victim." He pointed at her picture, wagged his finger at it. "She was the only one who was an accident. The eyes were postmortem..."

He put his hand back into his pocket and walked toward Victoria's picture. He looked at it. "All three girls shows signs of ritualistic abuse..." He mused. "They were all part of the group. Victoria had an active role and she was older...she'd probably been subjected to the abuse since she was around Amelia's age..." Looking toward Lindsay's image he removed his hand from his pocket and pointed again, "You were killed to punish your father."

Warner entered the precinct to bring a few documents to Cragen and she noted Huang standing and talking to himself. She paused and listened.

The small man went on and pointed toward Victoria, "Your tongue was cut out. Did you say something wrong? Don't shoot the messenger..." He paced the length of the board. "Alan Caper connects all of you and your father involved Novak," he spoke to Lindsay's picture again. "Paul. Mr. Barbary, are you the leader or are you some sort of apostle?"

"Maybe," Warner said. "Amelia's accidental death sparked something like an inspiration, gave them a taste for death."

"Awful inspiration for more awful doctrine," he responded without turning.

"Why aren't these people backing off of Novak and Cabot? All of their activities seem to have been going on for a while. They could've just gone back under the radar, rather than killing more people and continuing after Borden didn't finish paying." Warner joined in after scanning the evidence. "Not that I want them to continue cutting into girls and raping them."

"They're either upholding their side of the deal and giving him what he did pay for or...or they're angry. They use these scare tactics to stop people from pursuing things. Now perhaps they're using them to get us to stop pursuing them? It seems like there would be more action directed toward SVU though."

"Who are they?"

"They're a cult. A sadistic cult that functions on fear. I imagine there's some sort of hierarchy and recruitment is based upon perceived weakness."

"Why do they offer these scare tactic services?"

"They need money. Money is power and they enjoy inciting fear. They've always fed on fear and now they've incorporated even more fear among themselves and the entire public...killing their own members for what I assume are petty acts and then posing and displaying them for everyone."

Warner glanced toward Cragen's office and then back at the evidence, "Borden's dead now. He should be in the morgue for me soon. Died on his way to being arraigned."

Huang made a pensive noise.

"How many do you suppose are in this group?"

"Hard to say."

"Well, I need to drop these off," she held up the file folder. "I'll hopefully know what happened to Borden and have it for you by the end of the day."

A few minutes later Huang stood outside of an interrogation room and closely watched Alan and his mother. They'd not mentioned a lawyer yet and Mrs. Caper wanted to wait for her husband. Alan continued fidgeting.

Huang motioned for Elliot while Olivia sat in interrogation with the Capers. "You need to get Alan to lift up his shirt."

"You think he's hiding something?"  
>"I do," he nodded. "I think he's hiding wounds similar to those of all of the victims. Maybe his mother too."<p>

"Family business, huh?"

"I think so."


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

While Alan rolled on his uncle Franklin, giving his real home address. His mother wailed, his father sat in another interrogation room, confused. He remained confused despite extensive grilling from Fin. He mentioned that he took Alan to his sports things and his mother took him to church functions several times a week. Alan confessed to nothing, but did reveal the small, precise cuts covering his torso and also his back. He called it "mortification of the flesh" and then began reciting the Lord's prayer. Mrs. Caper screamed incessantly and cried with high-pitched awful sobs.

A warrant for Barbary's arrest as well as a warrant to search his home surfaced quickly, but his immaculate home was found to be deserted. His car was gone and no one had seen him. This was quickly determined to be the result of his sister sending him a warning message. The precinct bustled and a BOLO went out on Barbary and his car - a nondescript man in a nondescript car.

Oblivious to the developments, Casey took a long shower then sat in the bed of her hotel room channel surfing and waiting for her phone call. She'd gotten all of her work done thanks to several cups of awful hotel room coffee.

When her phone rang, she skipped a greeting and said, "So I have to stay in a hotel tonight."

"Why?! What happened?"

Casey filled her in and then asked, "You haven't gotten any more strange calls, have you?"

"You worried about me, Novak?" Alex was walking around her own hotel room with a glass of wine. "You know I've been trained to handle situations with militant groups in the Congo, right?"

"I'm mildly concerned that perhaps this group's reach extends a fair distance." Her voice displayed no concern whatsoever, but she smirked on her side of the line.

Alex let out a knowing, "Uh huh."

"Since I recused myself from all of this I have no idea what's going on unless something happens to me. I can't just call and ask what's going on."

"Well, I have some news that may or may not mildly excite you or at least elicit some sort of emotion from you, I hope."

"Go on," Casey said as blandly as she could manage.

"Some of my meetings were cancelled and we shuffled some things around today such that I have a free weekend. I can fly back up and-"

"Oh God, please don't come back this weekend just to see me." Casey was suddenly panicked and distressed by the thought.

"Whoa, Novak. I also need to see Liz and spend some time with Olivia. Don't jump to conclusions."

"I was joking," she said. The line seemed to work for other people.

Alex failed to fall for it, but went on, "We would need a police chaperone, wouldn't we? Since some nuts are harassing you and all of that business."

"Maybe they'll catch them and I can get on with my life by this weekend and, you know, so they stop killing people and scooping out their eyes."

"One can hope and holy shit, you sound nonchalant about gruesome crimes sometimes."

"I heard that when you were Bureau Chief-"

Alex let out a loud groan and topped off her wine then walked over to the window of her room. "That entire time of my life was a disaster. WPP made me dead and empty inside. Taking the position was a mistake and then I made mistake after mistake."

"I'm surprised anyone has a job after everything."

"Says the attorney who violated the Brady rules," Alex said in a sing-song voice.

Casey quickly changed the subject and asked, "What happened with you and Steele last night?"

"Nothing. I hate that he barely opens his mouth when he talks. He's like some sort of freak ventriloquist."

"That's awfully harsh."

"I'm not known for being extremely amiable."

"I told Olivia," Casey blurted out.

"Told Olivia what?" A second later she followed up with, "Oh, I see."

Casey winced, "Was that bad?"

"No, it's fine." Yet it didn't sound like it was completely fine.

"Are you sure?"

"Was she upset that I didn't tell her?"

"She was ok, I think."

"You haven't announced it to the DA's Office, have you?"

"No..."

Alex sat her wine down on the table and then lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes with her free hand, "I'm assuming this means you do actually want to see me this weekend? You're not going to be too busy?"

"I'll make sure I'm not busy," she answered apprehensively, unsure if it was the correct answer.

Alex seemed surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah. At the second, but I could change my mind by the weekend."

"You sure?"

"Don't make me change my mind right now. I'm not feeling very sure about any of this."

"Alright, I'll shut up." She glanced toward her open laptop, "I just got an email from Liz." She absently clicked and skimmed it, "You told Donnelly too? Damn, Casey. I didn't know you were some sort of chatterbox about your personal life."

"I'm not!" She responded defensively, "She pried it out of me."

"It's fine," Alex actually laughed. "She said that you are very unclear about most everything in your life."

"That's not completely true..."

"I understand that you have a lot going on, Casey. If you want I can just-"

She nearly yelled into her phone, "No!"

Alex snickered audibly on her end, "I was going to say that I can send you more baked goods, but if you're that adamant..."

To Casey's dismay she found herself blushing as she lay alone in the hotel room talking on the phone. She did shit like this when she was a teenager. So many years ago. Now here she was, a powerful New York City prosecutor, talking on the phone and being embarrassed about a crush. She was revolted with herself, but couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry, Casey," Alex said, still laughing, "I've had a few glasses of wine and I..." She couldn't finish her sentence due to laughter.

Casey took a deep breath and then said, "No. I completely expect more baked goods. You can do better than a parmesan loaf."

Alex managed to ask, "Do you prefer practical baked goods or more novel ones?"

"Are you making this into an innuendo? I can't tell. I really am talking about bread and cookies and stuff." She kept her voice completely deadpan and then covered her mouth to muffle her own laughter afterward.

...

Things were not as jovial at the precinct. Mr. Caper ended up in tears and his wife and son were booked for their involvement with Barbary. Barbary, meanwhile, was still somewhere and not in custody. They had no other names of those in the group and the new ADA on the case was already prepping to make deals to get all of the names. Cragen told her to slow her shit and wait for Barbary because he was the most likely to have all of the names.

Warner called Cragen and didn't even bother with an introduction, "We've got a problem. You need to see this."

"Warner? What is it?"

"Borden. I'm on my way to the precinct. I think there's a mole."

"A mole?"

But the ME had hung up. Cragen swung open his office door and looked out over the chaos, surveying everyone running around the room and hearing the constantly ringing phones. Reporters were outside and more mess had been posted on the evidence board in haste.

Warner eventually came tearing through the front door, her hair askew from fighting through the reporters crowded outside. She weaved through the other people in the precinct and went straight to the Captain. She quickly opened the folder she was carrying and pointed to some graphs that Cragen didn't understand.

"Borden was murdered."

"Who-"

"That's not my job, Donald. The how was a very nice poisoning likely an injection in his arm." She pulled a photo out from under some other papers in the folder. It was a close up of what Cragen assumed to be Borden's arm. She pointed to a small bit of bruising along with a dark puncture mark just below his elbow joint.

"How did someone get a syringe into lock up..."

"They didn't. He died of an insulin overdose and fast. Real fast. He was injected and down for the count in fifteen minutes at most. His lawyer was with him, correct? Anyone else?"

"No, just his attorney..." He looked at the woman for a second, thoughtfully. "Could it have been a suicide?"

"Someone had to bring him the insulin and the syringe then hide everything afterward if that's the case, but I doubt that because..."

Cragen's mouth curled into a sort of snarl, which caused Warner to lose her train of thought. The Captain yelled at no one in particular, "Find Borden's lawyer! Now!"

...

"ADA Novak!" A man's voice said and then there was pounding on the door. "Miss Novak!"

"Casey!" Elliot's voice followed.

She turned on the light beside the bed and sleepily got to her feet. She looked down and pulled the bathrobe more tightly around her, ensuring that she was covered appropriately. She hadn't intended to fall asleep in it, but there was nothing she could do then. The knocking and the yelling continued and she shuffled across the floor and opened the door.

Elliot's pistol was drawn and he pushed past her into the room.

"What's going on now?" She mumbled incoherently and absently tried to straighten out her hair. She wasn't quite sure if she was awake or not.

Elliot didn't answer her. He circled the room and then looked brusquely out of the window. The NYPD officer stood in the hallway. Casey crossed her arms and waited.

The detective put his gun away and then asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was sleeping pretty nicely, but now I'm awake." She saw familiar red and blue lights flashing from somewhere below her room on the street. "You gonna tell me what happened, El?"

He ran a hand over his short hair and then exhaled, "Kressler's dead."

"He was stable though."

"Murdered. Along with Borden."

Her jaw dropped.

"Peter Levinsky, the defense attorney."

"Dead?"

"No. Suspect. Last person to see both of them."

She accepted it with a nod.

Stabler continued, "We think there also may be a member of the group in the NYPD."

"Not that guy, I hope," she said and looked toward the officer. He forced a smile.

"No. Officer Gray. He took lunch just after Munch called in the info about Barbary and he never came back."

"Barbary? No one's filled me in since this afternoon."

Elliot pulled out the chair from her desk and indicated for her to sit. He also nodded to the officer with him and he closed the door. He gave her the pertinent details of the case and explained the need for her to have added security. There were concerns that the group knew where she was. McDonald was being relocated as they spoke and a uni was also being put on Mr. Schand for his protection as well.

Kressler had also died of an insulin overdose, shortly after Warner made the connection. His last visitor was his friend and colleague, Mr. Levinsky. The reason that the cult seemed to have eyes everywhere is because they were privy to inside information, thanks to having an attorney and an police officer in their midst.

They had managed to pry more information out of Alan Caper, but his mom was being completely closed-lipped. Alan revealed that the group didn't have a name and that it functioned sort of like some sort of bizarre sleeper cell. There were various circles with the lowest being initiates and they had limited contact with the more innermost circles. There was also some sort of elaborate phone tree. Amelia had been an initiate. He believed his uncle Franklin to be the man at the head of the group, but he admitted that he wasn't sure because he was only three levels beyond his initiation. He still wouldn't give any names. He claimed he didn't know some of the members real names and that they went by the names of the Apostles and other Biblical figures. Alan had not reached the level at which he got to choose his new name.

Casey looked expressionlessly at Elliot while he told her all of these things and then she asked, "What's their schtick? Is it a con for the guy in the middle to get rich? Is he an incestuous pedophile and this is his justification? What's the endgame?"

"That's something else, uh, interesting. We aren't entirely sure where the money ultimately went that they were making from their little "fear of God" routines. Barbary drives a Civic and lives in a shitty, albeit very tidy, apartment."

"Foreign account?"

"Nope. He may not be the head of this thing. They're like...warriors for God or something."

"Why the girls?"

Elliot shook his head and shrugged his bulky shoulders, "Well, they aren't the only ones being abused. They all are. All of the members. Initiation bullshit. Not sure. Caper keeps freaking out and then just starts reciting the Lord's prayer."

"Jesus."

"No kidding."

"How's everyone doing?" She frowned.

"Fin is catching some shut eye at the crib. Everyone else is running around. Hardwicke is doing ok. We're all tired..." He was starting to ramble.

"Why are they still after me?"

Another shrug and then he rubbed his eyes.

"Want to go grab coffee and some donuts?" She questioned. "I'm up for the day now. I don't think I can get back to sleep after everything you told me."

"Sorry, Case..."

"It's ok. You guys are going to wrap this whole mess up, you'll be all over the news as heroes, then they'll all go to jail and we can get back to normal. Handling not-cult sex crimes together."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Are you going to be protecting me all day?" She smiled and started into the bathroom to get dressed.

"Up to the Captain."

"I can't believe so many resources-"

"Don't worry about resources. You're not in charge of the budget. I'm definitely taking some time off next week. Kathy is...ah, being Kathy."

Before Casey knew it she was putting on her make-up and Elliot was deliriously spewing feelings, only some of which were coherent. She wondered when the last time he got more than an hour or two of sleep was. She tried to listen to him and respond accordingly, but she really wasn't sure why he was talking to her of all people.

He sounded so sad, but sad in that gruff Elliot way. She couldn't bring herself to tell him how uncomfortable it was for her to listen to his marital problems. Her life wasn't so complicated and confusing after all. Other people were dealing with this case and other people also had personal problems. Her personal problems were not problems - more personal confusions. He must've been awfully exhausted to nominate her as his willing ear. Olivia would have been more appropriate, but Kathy would have been the best option. Casey's last real relationship was an engagement that ended with her fiancé trying to kill her. She'd always been mediocre at interacting with people on a personal level and become worse after that.

Regardless, there was Elliot Stabler going on and on about his nagging wife and twenty-seven kids, but all Casey heard in her own head was him babbling about the sexual tension between him and Liv and then how he kissed Dani Beck years ago and it was apparently still eating him alive inside, and all of these other details that Casey didn't need to know nor did she know how to respond to.

"Sorry for unloading on you..." He finally said.

"I don't mind," she lied and gathered up some items to put in her briefcase, hoping he was finished. She supposed she had made Benson submit to much the same torture the night before.

"Cragen's right. He said I need a vacation."

"Everyone does. Except me. I had a three-year vacation."


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"Maybe it's for the best that I'm your body guard for the morning," Elliot sat, taking a seat on the small couch in her office. "This case was honestly starting to get to me. Plus your office is far more comfortable than the precinct."

"It's getting to everyone. These people are clearly insane and my office is pretty comfortable."

"I don't understand how people can get sucked into these schemes, you know? How they can buy into these twisted things..."

"I know," she answered and then her phone rang. She picked it up on speaker saying, "Novak."

"You have a package," Pete said. "What should I do with it?"

"Who is it from?"

"Dunno. The guy scribbled a signature on the sheet, but-"

"God, Pete. What are you being paid to do down there?" She attempted to say it with a joking tone, but she just came off angry. He stammered and she said, "I'll send Elliot down. I'm sorry. It's been a tough couple weeks."

Elliot had already gotten to his feet. She nodded to him and he headed out. He came back only a few minutes later and said, "Um..." The placed the box on her desk. "I think you should be concerned about receiving packages of food, but I know it isn't an abnormal occurrence."

The box was nondescript and from the same bakery. It crossed her mind for a moment that the eyes everywhere might know about the parmesan loaf and plans for more baked goods. It also quickly ran through her head that there might be a member at the bakery and even if the box of biscotti was from Alex it might still be poisoned. Then she opened the card. The text was typed, obviously it couldn't be handwritten since Alex was hundreds of miles away. She couldn't help herself from smiling slightly.

Stabler hovered over her shoulder and asked, "Should I have this tested or..."

"You eat one and I'll wait to see if you keel over." She hid the note from him.

"You're in remarkably good spirits for someone whose life might be in danger."

"I know who they're from, though there is a chance that a cult has connections to the bakery. My phone might be tapped."

"We checked. Your phone's good."

She raised an eyebrow, "Thanks."

"We like you down at the precinct, even if you don't think we do. Sometimes you're obnoxious, but...you know."

"Biscotti for your coffee?" She held out the box, offering him one. He took one, but only studied it and did not put it in his coffee, which sat on the small table by the couch.

"Who are they from?"

"A friend."

"The parmesan loaf friend?"

She nodded and dipped a biscotti into her coffee. "I haven't been big on taking risks since I got back...eating potentially poisoned biscotti may not be the best place to start."

"This is the risk you're going to choose to take? Really? I could have them tested."

"Do you think they'd just outright kill me or would they maybe kidnap and torture me first?"

Elliot looked at her like she was crazy then shoved the light and crisp twice-baked cookie into his mouth. Then he walked over and sat back down on the couch and picked up his coffee with half of the biscotti still sticking out of his mouth. He dipped the other half in and shook his head.

Casey looked at the card again and chuckled as she drank her own coffee. All it said was: _Called this morning to have these delivered. Tell me if they aren't fresh and heads will roll when I'm back._

She kept imagining the people at the bakery also laughing at the message Alex probably insisted they include word for word. She tucked the card into a drawer of her desk and ignored Elliot's curious looks, going back to work.

After a few minutes, Elliot could take it no longer and asked, "Are you dating someone? I'm pretty sure you don't have any friends outside of work..."

"That wasn't very nice," she said, still smirking a little.

"I don't have friends outside of work anymore. I barely have a family," he shrugged and started to sulk.

She hoped he wouldn't start sharing all of his thoughts and feelings again and she said, "I think I'm trying to see someone, but it's hard with...being stalked and threatened. I'm also a socially awkward workaholic." She looked down at the box, "Want another?"

"If you don't mind."

"Go ahead. It looks like two dozen."

"Who sends someone two dozen biscotti and a parmesan loaf?"

"A mystery," she said and turned back to her computer again.

...

Fin swapped out with Elliot to keep an eye on Casey for the afternoon. She got no menacing faxes, emails nor phone calls. Everything was pretty quiet in her office. The rest of the DA's Office was bustling as was the entire city because there were now two BOLOs out in regard to what the media had named the "Cult of Christ." Everyone agreed that it was tasteless. Huang did a brief interview, which vaguely covered what he had concluded about their contorted ideas.

Casey offered Fin some biscotti for his coffee. He looked at it with his brow bottom lip sticking out and his brow knitted.

"You dip it in your coffee," she said.

"I know what biscotti is, woman."

"My secret admirer sent it."

Fin assumed it to be safe or else Elliot wouldn't have let her have it. He took a piece and dropped it into his fresh cup of coffee from the DA's Office. The DA's Office coffee was marginally less disgusting than the precinct coffee. The DA's Office also had nicer computers and the paint wasn't chipping on all of the walls.

"I know who my secret admirer is, but it's a secret from you," she said with a grin that was a bit out of character for her.

"How many of those you had? You're bound to have a sugar crash any second, I think." Then he said, "It's pretty damn good though. These are fresh."

While Casey and Fin drank coffee and ate biscotti, Levinsky was arrested. His torso and thighs were covered with cuts similar to Alan Capers and the female victims'. He said that he was on his way to meet with Barbary and some of the others in the group, so they could figure out their next move. SVU had them cornered. They were panicked.

"If you all would have just stopped you maybe could've gotten away with everything, you know?" Munch said to the man, "You at least could've gotten away with it longer. Killing Amelia, did that give you some sort of bloodlust?"

"You misunderstand, detective..." The man said to him. "Amelia was an accident, but nothing happens without reason. Borden's daughter? She was also an unfortunate casualty, but that was Borden's fault."

Munch looked suspiciously at the man. He had been read his rights and he was a lawyer, so of course he knew what he was doing as he confessed all of these things in the interrogation room. Huang was outside observing him very intently. Munch asked, "What about Victoria?"

"Victoria...she questioned the will of God. That's why we had to remove her tongue."

"Borden? Kressler?"

"They had to die. Sacrifices, so to speak."

"Uh huh," Munch responded sarcastically. He nodded and crossed his arms. "What about Casey Novak? Why are you still bothering with her?"

"We keep our word. Also, she is a creature of sin."

"She's a prosecutor. You're a defense attorney. I'd say you are more a creature of sin as far as the spectrum of attorneys go."

Levinsky shook his head, "No, no. I'm not talking about that."

"What then?"

"She could be one of us."

"You mean a part of your group? Even though you just referred to her as a creature of sin?"

He nodded. "We want to save her. We were disappointed that Borden chose her as his target."

"How about you tell me exactly who 'we' is?"

On the other side of the two-way glass, Huang stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He watched silently and solemnly. Levinsky then gave a few names. Like Alan, he didn't know everyone's real names. He also gave up the place he was heading to meet Barbary. It was the house of another member.

Everything was all too easy. Officers were going out and arresting everyone implicated by Caper and Levinsky and Munch and Olivia went to round up Barbary. They found him and the owner of the home, along with his wife and three children. The group was praying quietly in the den, Bibles in their laps, cuts covering their stomachs and backs and small stab wounds on their upper thighs. One of these latter wounds was looking infected on the eldest child.

It was all too easy once the ball was rolling. Olivia knew it, but she didn't say anything because she just wanted it to be over. The children didn't understand what was going on and the teenagers like Alan Caper were so deluded and indoctrinated...

Barbary was surely the ringleader and without him, the group would falter and crumble. Maybe he had given up? Maybe he'd run out of cards to play with so many of his recruits giving names and talking about their practices? Maybe he knew he was defeated and that they had him? He knew they were closing in, so he didn't bother trying to run anymore? That would explain why it was so easy. It would give Olivia some peace of mind.

Everyone was being so cooperative and they were back at the station in no time. They all seemed like peaceful people, but everyone knew it was a deception. As the day went on various children were put into protective custody and more people were brought in as more and more names were revealed. Men and women were booked and more puzzle pieces about the murders were found. More than fifty people total were implicated and they were from all walks of life. One person was not found - Officer Gray. No one brought in mentioned his name or seemed to know who he was, but he was certainly missing.

"Do I get to go home tonight?" Casey asked Fin.

"Dunno yet. We might even move you again...not sure where Gray is."

"Think this'll be done by Friday?"

"You got plans or something?"

"Not yet, obviously. I need to know if I'm going to have one or more of New York's finest following me. They put a damper on things, don't you think?"

"Better safe than sorry."

"I know..." She sighed and looked down at her desk, "I know all about playing it safe. Taking on easy cases I know I can win..."

"Don't hard on yourself, Novak. You just got back. You're rusty and need to get back in the game."

"I need to get back into a lot of games." She quickly changed the subject, "I'm going to have to testify in court when all of this is said and done."

Fin nodded. "I just wish it would go ahead and be done. I feel like I haven't slept in a week now."

"I don't think you have. It's been crazy."

"How are you doin'? I feel like I already shoulda asked." The man slumped forward and then rubbed his hands back and forth over his head, "I'm sure you need to be working and here I am runnin' my mouth."

"I can multitask and I always take my work home with me every night anyway."

"You doin' ok with all this?"

"I've got plenty of protection, I think. The company of detectives in my lonely office is nice, but I would very much like to sleep in my own bed and not receive any more body parts or creepy faxes."

He looked up at her, "You're in a real good mood."

"Stabler said the same thing."

"You gettin' laid or somethin'?" He chuckled. "I know you've been gettin' all kinds of gifts in the middle of all this bullshit." Fin made a little twirling motion with his finger, indicating the 'all of this.'

She looked at him, a bit dazed and slightly offended, which was a more typical Novak look. "I need to get back to work. Thank you very much, Fin."

"There you go. Now you're back to normal. I knew I could turn you back into the real Casey."

Attempting not to smile, she turned back to her computer and said nothing else to the detective.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Clock out and go home. Clock out and go home. It didn't seem real, but Elliot was going to have the weekend off and it was going to be a long weekend. Saturday through Tuesday. He was even leaving early. It was only mid-afternoon and the damn cult case was considered officially closed. They'd determined which people were in what circles and matched them to all of their Biblical names. Officer Gray was still missing, but someone in the chain of command concluded it wasn't related. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and told Olivia he'd see her on Wednesday. She was on her way out as well, but was moving much slower.

Instead of going straight home though, Detective Stabler made a pit stop at the DA's Office. Casey's office door was open and the light was on. He knocked lightly and walked in.

"Hey, you sure you don't want a uniform at your place for the weekend just in case?" He asked.

Casey turned slightly in her chair, "Just in case what? You've got all of them."

"I know, but..."

"But what? Go home, Elliot. It's done."

"I just can't shake the feeling that it was too easy."

"It wasn't easy. Five people died and you need to go home. Take your family out to dinner and rest."

He sighed, "You're probably right. Have a good weekend, Case."

"Have a-" Casey started to bid him farewell.

"Novak-" Alex rounded the corner into the office and almost crashed head on with Elliot.

"Whoa. Alex." He said and looked surprised by her appearance.

She stepped back and laughed pleasantly, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't expect to see you here either. Liv mentioned that you were coming back this weekend."

Casey had gotten to her feet and stood stiffly, not expecting Alex to arrive so early nor to surprise her in her office. "Alex. Hi."

Alex had her arms behind her back, concealing something. "I just came by to talk to Novak."

"About what?"

"We're doing a...um...mock court case," the ADA responded suddenly, straightening out her skirt and finally regaining some motion.

"Really?" He didn't believe her, but didn't know what else in the world the two could be doing.

"Yes," Alex told him firmly with a nod.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "Have a good weekend, ladies."

As the detective waved and made his way back down the hallway, Alex kept her hands behind her back. She remained in the doorway watching him leave and keeping an eye out for anyone else in the hall. Casey remained standing. Once Alex was sure everything was clear she slinked inside and closed the door behind her.

"Mock court case? Are you serious?" Alex's amusement was apparent. "That was the best you could do? Why don't you just tell him?"

"It seemed like a good idea it the moment," Casey confessed sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry. I was under the impression you wanted to see me after our nightly phone chats." She looked over her shoulder, still concealing something, but also closing all of the blinds that looked out into the hall.

"I...I do. I think."

She glanced back over her shoulder again, "You still think?"

"I mean, I..."

"Stop thinking." Alex briskly crossed the room and then sat down on the edge of Casey's desk in front of her. She handed her a small gift-wrapped box.

"No. Alex, you can't keep getting me things and sending me things. You can't just show up here. I don't even know if-"

"Shut up." She shoved the box in her direction again and crossed her legs at the knees, smoothing out her own pencil skirt. "Don't worry about it. We're doing a mock court case right now."

Casey sat down, feeling defeated. The mystical Alexandra Cabot with her perfect hair and skin was sitting on her desk, smirking. The incredibly arrogant was sitting there smirking and looking perfect. She had certainly just gotten off of a plane and perhaps run by her hotel, but she somehow looked flawless. She had come bearing gifts. Casey looked down, away from her. She didn't even know if she liked women and why would Alex Cabot like her anyway?

"Hey, you're the one who has been telling everyone about us and there's not really an us to talk about. I show up and you make up mock court cases and won't accept a very small gift. I just wanted to stop by and give it to you then I'm going to an early dinner with Liz."

Novak grumbled audibly and took the box. It wasn't very big. She lifted the lid and said, "It's a pen..."

"It writes upside down," Alex spoke as if she were selling the pen.

"How did you know that I write upside down all the time?" Casey finally laughed. She looked up, leaning back in her chair and she said, "Thanks."

"I was going to bring you flowers, but...you know, function before form."

Casey took the pen out of the box and sat the box aside. She rolled it between her fingers and pretending to look at it while her eyes actually drifted to Alex's calves and then up to her thighs. She tapped the end of the pen gently on her desktop and tried to figure out what she was doing. She was being awkward, that was for sure. She looked up at Alex's face again finding her still looking pleased with herself. She started to say, "I..."

"Do you still want to get drinks tonight? Wine bar near your place?"

"Yes, but-"

"Look, Novak. I'm going to present you with an argument now," Alex got back to her feet. She paced in front of Casey…once, twice, and adjusted her glasses a few times. "I've been helping to prosecute sex crimes in third world countries for the past two years. When I'm not in Africa, I'm in DC dealing with lobbyists and politicians, attempting to stop the sexism that is overwhelmingly present when persecuted groups seek asylum – basic human rights that are being overlooked. For the next few months, I'm going to be between New York and DC, speaking at conferences and hearings, working with the UN and again, lobbyists, who are admittedly not my favorite group of people."

Casey sat quietly and listened to Alex essentially list her vita, making her feel inadequate. She again wondered why someone like Alex would ever be remotely interested in someone like her. Maybe someone in SVU really did put her up to it or it was a dare, but that was too high school for a group of relatively sensible professional adults.

Alex sensed the slight shift in Casey's demeanor. "I have had absolutely no personal life for years. When I've tried it's been disaster after disaster. People can't handle what I do. They don't understand, don't want to, or can't stomach it. I dated a nice guy when I was in Witness Protection out of boredom, but he didn't even know my real name. I came out of the WPP and I tried to be a normal lawyer and date normal people. That was poor decision after poor decision on my end. Failed relationships, failed hook ups, a really great failed engagement and a hostage situation in a court room."

"Alex, I get it, but I just don't-"

Cabot seemed to be gaining more momentum with her riveting monologue, "I'm not looking for any serious commitment, since I'll be gone pretty much all the time. I just..." She paused briefly, stammered for a split second. "I heard from a less than credible source that you might be interested. I thought I'd go out on a limb, have some fun, ruin our professional relationship - another notch in the belt of mistakes that I make when I interact with humans not in a work setting. Even in a work setting." She tapped her fist on Casey's desk, "Just before I got engaged I had sex with Steele on my desk in my office at the Bureau for God's sake."

Casey tried to stop her again, "Alex."

She was not stopping. She was speaking to her as if she were the jury at the trial of the century. She walked across the room again, "To my surprise I found you vaguely intriguing, albeit neurotic, and I do enjoy your company. I also enjoy sending you gifts. It's nice to be nice to someone. I would very much like to have drinks with you, or dinner, or a movie. I don't care."

Casey blinked. She gave up.

Continuing her speech, Alex said, "We can just see where it goes. We can be friends. Whatever. I'm not asking you for any labels or for you to put yourself in any group. Being part of a lesbian lawyer power couple might be good publicity - people in Washington hate me enough as it is, but I'm sure they would somehow relate my personal life to be having an agenda that I don't have. You need only tell people you're having dinner with me. You understand what I do and why it's important and you deal with the same shit." She walked back toward Casey, "No one is willing to deal with what I do coupled with my schedule, and I just want…something." She stopped to breathe for what appeared to be the first time, "Something instead of nothing. If I don't do something, I'm pretty sure my job is going to make me crazy. You would, in a sense, be saving my sanity."

The other attorney said nothing in response and just chewed her bottom lip.

"I just spoke to you like I was presenting a closing argument, didn't I?'

"I don't think you'd say 'shit' in a court of law, but yes."

"That's true," she walked back over to her confidently still. "I'm not high-maintenance. I'm sure you think I am."

"I just don't know what I want..."

Alex shrugged then and looked down.

Casey got to her feet, leaving the pen on top of the file she was looking over. She took a few steps toward Alex and then placed her hands on the other woman's hips. "You had sex with Steele on your desk?"

Alex looked about as embarrassed as Alex could manage, "Buttons flew off of my shirt and everything. I had to safety pin my shirt closed before I left, and he was dating another girl from the office at the time and...I think I had a touch of temporary insanity."

She pulled her closer apprehensively. Alex looked up and put her hands on either side of Casey's face. She smirked again slightly and brushed Casey's cheeks with her thumbs. They remained standing closely for a few more seconds, neither speaking and neither making any sudden movements.

"On your desk?"

"Yes, the Bureau Chief's desk. The same desk that's still in there. Don't tell anyone."

It was Casey who leaned in first. She had no bag to drop and she was determined not to step on any of her toes. They were standing in her office in broad daylight. At least the blinds were all closed, which made Casey think for a moment that Alex planned this whole thing. Soon their bodies were pressed together and Alex's hands were firmly tangled in the back of her hair. She found her own hands tugging and clinging to the hem of the other woman's shirt as she bit gently on her lower lip.

In the next moment, Alex had edged her back toward her desk. Casey had moved her hands very cautiously up the front of Alex's body. Politely and over her shirt, of course. She deepened the kiss as she rubbed Alex's neck. The blonde woman pressed her into her desk, the edge touching the backs of her legs. Suddenly she stopped and turned her head away as Alex's hands fell down to the sides of her thighs.

Alex backed up slightly, leaving Casey to lean on her desk.

Casey let out a loud sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry," she began. "If I don't finish preparing these notes it's going to bother me all night."

"I..." Alex looked at her watch. "I'm supposed to meet Liz in a few minutes anyway."

She started to back farther away, but Casey reached out and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling her back and making her smile. "I untucked your shirt, I'm sorry. Tuck that back in. You don't want to look like a mess for Donnelly."

Alex laughed loudly and began fixing her slightly addled wardrobe. "I'll see you tonight, right? At eight?"

Casey nodded, "Eight and with no cops tailing us for our protection."

Having tucked her shirt back in and straightening out her collar, Alex extended an arm and ran her hand through Casey's hair then let her hand come to a stop on her shoulder, "I fucked your hair up."

She shrugged, not caring, "I have bad hair days at least three days a week. I also sometimes wear the same sweater two days in a row. No one will notice. People will notice if your shirt is untucked though. You're always-put-together Alex Cabot. I'm just weird Casey Novak."

"True." Alex tapped the end of Casey's nose with her forefinger and then turned on her heel and exited the office without another word, closing the door behind her.

Casey stayed where she was, leaning on her desk, for some time. She just looked vacantly at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone else to stop by. Turning, she picked up the gift pen from her desk and sat back in her comfortable chair. She removed the cap and put it on the end of the pen then looked casually at the tip. Impulsively she snatched up a few documents as well as a firm folder. She held the items over her head, craned her neck and proceeded to test Alex's one selling point for the writing device.

She ending up laughing foolishly, composing herself, and finishing her work on time somehow. She left the office at five. It was refreshing to be part of the bustle again and not be taxied around by police officers or have them following her car. She made it to her apartment without a hitch, glad that everything was back to normal. She admitted to herself that it was not normal for her to leave work on time and also not normal for her to have plans on a Friday night. That aside, everything was back to normal.


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Finding herself ready early, Casey headed out and decided to walk the few blocks to the upper east side wine bar and get a seat. It was a mild spring day and she had put on a deep purple cocktail dress and a pair of matching pumps. She felt awkward and like her legs were too pale and too long. She couldn't even remember when she bought the dress and was glad that it still fit. She carried a clutch and was surprised to see that she could look like a normal woman and not an attorney. Close to normal at least.

The wine bar was dimly lit, but not ridiculously crowded by any means. She was greeted by a hostess and she said, "I'm meeting someone here, but I'm a little early."

The hostess smiled and directed her to a small table by the bar. She flipped through the menu of appetizers, sandwiches and other light items. It occurred to her only then that she should have eaten something instead of spending hours getting ready and just drinking a glass of whisky. Alex met with Liz for pretty early, so maybe she wouldn't mind a sashimi sampler. She also wondered if it was uncouth for her to order a glass of wine while she waited. She looked at her watch - only fifteen minutes early.

She waited five more minutes, caved and ordered a blush wine that she could finish quickly and Alex would never know she had a drink before she got there. She tried not to think about the exact nature of what she was doing, which was going out on a date with a woman. Not just any woman either, but a well-known one in a number of circles. Alex Cabot had dated some of the most well-known lawyers in the city and had her fair share of media coverage, especially when she had played the role of Bureau Chief. Now she was getting attention for her current work as well. She'd been engaged and it ended publicly and very messy.

Now somehow, due to a strange chain of events, Alex Cabot was on a date with the formerly suspended sex crimes ADA, known mainly for being incredibly awkward and nearly being disbarred. They'd made out in her office and when she replayed the event in her mind she finished the glass of wine in one go. She looked at her watch again - five minutes.

Casey had sat such that she was facing the entrance. Only a few more people had trickled in and none of them had been Alex. She panicked at the thought of being stood up.

"Can I get you anything else?"

She snapped out of her panic-induced trace and said, "No, thank you. I'm going to wait a few more minutes."

A few more minutes passed and Alex Cabot was late. Had she said eight or around eight? At ten minutes after, Casey ordered a glass of chinon and assumed Alex changed her mind. She'd placed her phone out in front of her on the table and had no missed calls nor messages. She took a huge gulp of the wine, not caring anymore how unsophisticated she may look doing so. She was experiencing a number of strange insecurities. Staring at her phone, she wondered if Alex were kidnapped by cult members who somehow escaped the culling.

She swirled the wine glass absently, drinking more and contemplating texting Alex, but not wanting to seem needy or overly interested or anything that would give her the wrong idea. She of course didn't know what the wrong idea was. She was still looking at her phone and drinking the wine periodically when Cabot stepped inside.

The tall blonde looked flustered, but not unkempt. She wore a knee-length, black evening dress. She spotted Casey anxiously hunched over her phone and made her way over between the other tables and patrons.

"Sorry I'm late."

Casey jumped and when she looked up she looked relieved and maybe even a little angry. She started to get up and then had second thoughts. Were you supposed to get up and shake your date's hand when they arrived? No.

"I see you got started without me," Alex said and pulled out her chair, taking a seat herself. "Liz got chatty and then I had to run back to my hotel and change and the cab got stuck in traffic. I thought I would make it, but then - stupid me - I left my phone on the table in my room. I was afraid you'd think I stood you up."

"Yes," she answered. "Or that you were kidnapped."

"No, no. I'm just awful."

Conversation was forced and cumbersome for a few minutes with Alex asking Casey about work and Casey asking how Judge Donnelly was doing since she last saw her a few days before.

"It took her half of the meal to ask about what's going on with us and then she answered herself."

Casey laughed and mumbled, "Of course."

Alex stretched out one of her legs under the table and touched Casey's ankle causing her to stiffen suddenly. Alex snickered and Casey loosened up, but only slightly.

"Do you mind if I order some food?" Casey asked, "I neglected to eat."

"You're paying, you can order whatever you want."

"Speaking of ordering, you need a drink."

...

Casey unlocked the door leading into her building and ushered Alex inside. She placed her hand on the small of her back and then followed her toward the elevator. Alex stood in the corner, leaned one of her shoulders on the wall.

"Stop with that smug grin," Casey said jokingly as the doors closed.

"What smug grin?"

"That one," she answered, closing the gap between them and pinning her where she stood before kissing her just on the side of her mouth.

The doors opened again, as they quickly reached Casey's floor. Alex let out a loud laugh and said, "If you keep doing that I'm going to think you're interested in me."

She grinned and took her by the wrist down the hallway. She opened the door to her dark apartment and flicked on a light then lead her inside. "Another drink? I have whisky, a few beers and normal drinks."

"Mmm...whisky with lots of ice."

"Done," she said and pointed Alex toward the couch in the living room.

As she shuffled over to the couch she reached down and pulled off each of her shoes and sat them down on the floor before taking a seat. She sat her purse on the coffee table and then stretched her arms out along the back of the soda, again marveling at how tidy and sterile the place seemed.

Casey deposited her clutch on the kitchen counter and poured them each a tumbler. She nodded toward Alex's shoes and handed her a glass. "Got comfortable, huh?"

She nodded, took a sip and then grabbed a coaster and sat her drink down.

"And using a coaster this time?" Casey remained standing and sipping her own drink, looking at Alex sitting on her couch, legs crossed and one arm extended. Alex said nothing and patted the seat next to her. Sitting down, Casey put her hands in her own lap and continued taking small sips of her drink every so often.

Alex let her arm drape across her shoulders and then took her drink from her hand. She gave it up without protest. She sat it down on another coaster then delicately placed her hand on Casey's cheek.

Casey's eyes were wide and her lips were pressed tightly together. She swallowed forcefully as Alex just watched her smiling as confidently as ever. Casey was determined not to initiate anything this time, realizing that she had been the one to do so all previous times. She kept her hands on her lap while Alex traced her jawline with one hand and then moved it down to her knee then up her bare thigh beneath her dress.

"Don't hold your breath, you're turning blue," Alex said with a laugh and pulled away from her, moving her arm back up to the back of the couch. "I'm not normally like this and I apologize. I suppose I'm a little rusty myself."

"It's ok."

Alex didn't seem to believe her. She picked up her drink and said, "I don't know if I'm drunk, but I feel like I've manipulated you into all of this. I seem to now be having a feeling somewhat like guilt."

"You're being a little manipulative right now," she mumbled and picked her own drink back up again as well, but then she leaned into the crook of the other woman's arm. Only the kitchen light was on and the room was dim.

"Can I put my feet on your table? Is that allowed in La Casa de Novak?"

"Are they clean?" Casey asked in all seriousness and took off her own shoes, leaving them lying askew on the floor.

Alex let out another faint laugh. She turned on the TV and put her feet on the table then slouched down closer to Casey. She stopped flipping through the channels on CNN and picked her glass back up.

"For real we're ending out date watching CNN on my couch?" Casey looked up at her.

"Yes?"

She grunted a concession and tried to remember the last time she was even this close to another person. It was nice, even with the droning reporters on CNN. She mainly focused on Alex's steady breathing and the clinking of ice in their glasses. Alex's fingers lightly grazed her arm every so often.

"Are you going to fall asleep?" Alex asked after a moment. "How do you not find the news riveting?"

"No. I'm in a dress and I haven't finished my drink. I'm not even tired."

"Just checking. You're being awfully quiet."

"I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"You," she responded as if it were common sense. She'd actually been looking at Alex's perfectly toned legs stretched out in front of her.

"Trying to figure out if we're dating or not? Liz said you were rather baffled."

"Rather baffled, yes. I think that describes it." Between sips of her drink she continued, "You send me things and got me a pen. We go out to dinner. This thing tonight was a date. I even thought of it as a date. We keep, you know..."

"Do you want to date me, Novak?"

"I don't know."

"The week after next I have another charity party to attend here. Would you-"

Casey sat up and turned to look straight at her, "Are you serious?"

"I am."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Alex asked back.

"You're drunk." Casey got up and returned to the kitchen for another drink herself. She opened a beer and then padded back to the couch where she resumed her seat, only she slid an arm behind Alex's back.

"I guess that means you'll think about it. We can just go as friends. You can deflect everyone else away from me."

"You want me to go and be some sort of human shield to stop annoying people from talking to you?"

"When you put it like that it makes me seem like a bitch." Alex began to twirl Casey's hair in her fingers, "I think it would be fun if you aren't too embarrassing."

"You just want me to keep Steele away."

"And I enjoy your company once you stop over-thinking everything."

Casey said nothing else and just looked at Alex's legs. Her eyes moved up to her hips, shaped perfectly in the tight dress. Her chest rose and fell with each breath in a hypnotizing pattern. Casey felt like she was back in high school, everything was confusing, but exciting and terrifying at the same time. She leaned forward, sitting her beer bottle on the table. She was careful enough to wipe the cold condensation from her palm before placing her hand just above Alex's knee. The other woman twitched just slightly, but didn't say a word and Casey heard the remaining ice clinking around in her glass.

Alex's skin was just as perfect and soft as Casey had imagined. Before she realized it she had moved her hand far up the inside of her thigh. Alex was still breathing steadily, but she had spread her legs slightly and allowed Casey to move her dress up. Casey paused where she was and looked up. Alex still held onto her nearly drained glass, but she had leaned her head back, pillowing it on the couch. Her eyes were closed and she looked perfectly relaxed.


	31. Chapter Thirty

_**Note: **__The following contains sex words._

**Chapter Thirty**

Casey's heart was pounding and her voice caught in her throat. Her hand frozen where it had stopped on Alex's upper thigh. Alex felt her eyes on her and lifted her head, tilting it slightly to the side. "You can do anything you want to me, Casey."

"But I don't-"

"That's ok," Alex said surely. "I promise."

She swallowed nervously and looked at her curiously.

"Alright," Alex sighed, but in an amused way, not annoyed at all. She sat her glass on the table, careful to put it on the coaster. She turned and took Casey's hands and pulled her to her feet. She purred in her ear, "Just relax, Novak. You're not on trial."

She took Casey into her own bedroom and kissed her chastely on the lips before letting her go and untying the top of her own dress. She let the slick fabric slide down her body and pool at her feet. She had been wearing nothing beneath the dress at all and Casey would have found that out had she not paused in her exploration of Alex's legs. Faint light trickled in from the kitchen and the television, accenting her abs and alabaster skin.

Casey moved toward her and began kissing her neck lightly. Women were all perfume and unbelievably smooth skin or maybe it was just Alex. She moved down to Alex's collarbone and kept her hands on her hips. Alex smiled and moved her head down to Casey's shoulder.

She bit the skin there gently and moved Casey's hands up to the sides of her breasts. She was endlessly amused by how apprehensive Casey was, as if she were afraid of hurting her. It took a lot more to hurt Alex Cabot than these shy kisses and overly cautious hands.

Alex found the zipper on the back of Casey's dress continued to dot her neck with kisses and gentle bites as she began to unzip it. When Casey realized what Alex had done she stopped everything again, frozen. Alex had taken the zipper down her lower back, but done nothing to remove the little dress. She kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do, Case."

"I should hope not. We both prosecute sex crimes for a living."

She laughed softly as she slid Casey's dress from her shoulders and off of her. Slowly, she moved backward, guiding her to the bed. Casey stepped out of her dress and her hands became more aggressive, but only slightly. She panicked when her thumb accidentally grazed one of Alex's nipples.

Casey was wearing a bra and underwear like a respectable attorney and Alex did nothing to remove them. She was generally a woman of her word and having Casey hungrily kissing her and exploring her body with her hands, though obviously terrified, was enough.

Alex lay down on top of the comforter and pulled Casey down on top of her. Novak paused again. She found herself sitting on top of Alex's hips, her legs to either side of her body. Alex lay there on her back looked up at her, almost nonchalantly, but anticipating whatever would happen next.

"What if..." Casey started to say, but instead she stopped and carefully removed Alex glasses and sat them delicately on the nearby nightstand.

"Don't worry," Alex told her, reaching up and putting her hands on Casey's waist. She moved her hands up and down a few times, assuringly. She stopped with her hands on her ribs and then moved them up to cup Casey's breasts through her bra.

Casey bent back down and covered her mouth with her own, letting the other woman massage her breasts. She moved her head down and left a line of kisses on her jawline, down her neck. She stopped at her collar bone again and began to leave a small bruise that would surely stick out like a sore thumb on Alex's perfect skin. She thought she could hear Alex's heart racing just as much as hers and it made her feel infinitely better as she delved to go lower on the woman's body.

Alex let out an involuntary groan when Casey finally took her nipple in her mouth. This, of course, startled Casey. Alex laughed and tangled her hands in the redhead's hair and pressed herself against her. Alex couldn't think of anyone in her life that had ever been so methodical in bed. Casey replaced her mouth with her hands and kissed Alex's stomach down to her navel.

She slid off of Alex and sat on her knees between her legs. Alex had pillowed her head on her hands and looked up smiling pleasantly at the ceiling while Casey seemed to be memorizing every inch of her body with her hands. She started on the outside of her thighs just dragging her fingers slowly up and leaving a slightly tickling trail in their wake. She moved them to the top of her thighs and did the same coming to a halt again on her protruding hip bones.

Part of Casey wanted to stop there, just to leave that one particular part of Alex Cabot alone, but another part of her remained endlessly curious. The nicely trimmed curls of hair weren't scary per se nor were they concealing anything completely mind-boggling to Casey. She had her own vagina, so in theory she should know how to work one. She kept telling herself this as she moved one hand a little closer and felt Alex move into it, arching her back.

She looked at the shape of Alex's body in the shadows. She lay there just accepting anything and everything from Casey. She watched her facial expressions change subtly as she proceeded cautiously with her hands. She traced the woman's lips very lightly with her thumb at first. It was warm and wet and Alex bit her lower lip as she pressed harder.

"Alex," Casey whispered.

"Hm?" Alex responded without looking up.

"I...think..."

"Stop thinking," she said bluntly.

Casey took a deep breath and a nervous gulping swallow before positioning herself deliberately over Alex, straddling just one of her legs then. She slid her middle finger into her and then worked in her forefinger. Alex moved forcefully into her hand and moved her leg so that it pressed into Casey who was also undeniably hot and extremely wet. Casey leaned forward and kissed her again, tasting the wine and whisky and Alex's lip gloss. Alex dug her nails into her back and began moving in a rhythm against her hand, pressing as far as she could while forcing Casey to also grind against her leg. Alex quickly became convinced she could get Casey off with this minimal effort and wanted to see if she was correct.

Forced to break the kiss first, Alex moved began panting into Casey's neck, occasionally releasing an erotic moan between sporadic kisses. Casey quickly matched the rhythm of her thrusts and felt herself become embarrassingly close to climaxing just from rubbing herself on the other woman's leg.

She resisted the unbelievable urge to tell Alex how beautiful she was because it was so cliche and stupid. To keep herself quiet she returned to the delicious spot above her collarbone and continued to work her mouth there. Alex was clinging almost desperately to her back. Casey felt some pain searing her shoulders and in response she quickly moved a third finger into her lover.

"Oh, God," Alex gasped suddenly, her voice high and pulled Casey close to her, clawing at her so fiercely she was sure she was bleeding.

All she could think about was making Alex come. Nothing else mattered. She didn't care if they were dating or if they became some New York lesbian lawyer power couple. She didn't care about the precinct gossip nor the trial next week, nor the huge list of arraignments on the docket. All that mattered was how she felt Alex's muscles clinching at her hand and felt her trembling underneath her. Those little sounds she kept making in her ear were about to send her over the edge.

Casey moved their mouths back together, their tongues tangling almost angrily as she made one final, hard thrust and pressed her own self against Alex. Alex body arched and she then buried her face into Casey's hair and neck again, muttering only the slightest, "Ok then."

The two relaxed against one another and Alex's arms fell to her sides. Casey shifted enough to the side to lay her head on Alex's chest. Her heart was certainly beating a million miles an hour now if it hadn't been before. She said nothing and just took in Alex's scent, which was now mingled slightly with sweat and sex.

When Casey began to think Alex had fallen asleep the woman spoke up. Her voice somewhat raspy, "Casey Novak."

"Alexandra Cabot," she said back.

"Are you sure you've never slept with a woman before?"

Casey looked up and said, "Don't fuck around with me, Cabot. I'm sure it was because you haven't gotten laid in two years."

"Well, well. Look at how witty you are." Alex reached up and began to relaxedly run her fingers through Casey's hair.

The redhead sighed and lay her head back down. She brought her hand up and without warning flicked her nipple this time, no longer absolutely petrified at the sight of her bare chest.

Alex laughed a throatier laugh than usual and said, "I forgot how different things are with women."

Casey drew some lazy circles on Alex's ribcage as she still breathed heavily.

"Want to go again? I wouldn't mind returning the favor, but if you don't want-" Alex found herself interrupted by a sudden and passionate kiss.

When Casey seemed to have her fill, Alex attempted to speak again, "If I'm not mistaken, you may have gotten off on my leg or at the very least came close."

"Don't talk dirty. It'll ruin the perfect image of you I have in my head."

"What? Getting off? That's dirty? Also...you think I'm perfect?"

She quickly slipped back into being awkward, "I...just meant..."

"I'd beg to differ, but it's really flattering, so I guess I'll take it as a compliment." She hugged Casey close to her. "Now as I was saying before...if you're interested, I will more than happily-"

"Yes," she responded firmly.

"I like that 'take charge' attitude, Novak."

"Please?" Casey added more politely as she sat up and unclasped her bra. It was stuck to her slightly with sweat and she wished she'd taken it off before, but that was neither here nor there. Afterthought being twenty-twenty or whatever the fucking phrase was.

"Casey, did I mention that you're really hot?" She took up drawing similar circles and squiggles on Casey's thigh as she propped herself up on one elbow. "I thought it was those really nice sweaters you always seem to wear even in the summer, but-"

"Whose talking too much now, hm?" Casey said jokingly and kissed her again.

When they broke the kiss Alex took charge. She took Casey in her arms, feeling the cool beads of sweat against both of their bodies and kissing her shoulders. Casey didn't panic at any point. She mimicked all of the delicate kisses Casey had given her, nibbling her ear, running the tip of her tongue down her neck, her shoulder and her chest. Alex didn't proceed at all with the same caution, but she remained sweet and took her time. With Casey on her back she played merrily with her breasts, fondling and kneading them. She flicked them with her tongue and then bit down until she could get Casey to make a sounds. Casey was exceptionally quiet. She kissed her abdomen all the way down to the top of her tight black panties.

She removed the obstructive clothing, throwing it aside, and continued the line of tiny kisses down even farther. Casey let out a little surprised gasp when Alex proceeded to flick her tongue out and touched her where she was already very sensitive. Alex investigated with her mouth, slowly at first, paying close attention to the slightest moves of Casey's hips and slightest flexing of her thighs. She slid an arm under one of Casey's legs causing her to lift it and provide her with a preferred angle. With her other hand she slid in her middle finger and worked at her clit with her tongue at the same time.

Casey's body buckled almost immediately and her hands flew into Alex's hair, pressing her face into her harder. She moved her hips into Alex, who went about everything deftly. She mixed in small bites with the kisses and put in a second finger. She moved her hand perfectly with Casey's body and it took everything for her not to scream out. It took only a few minutes of Alex going down on her for her to come.

Alex smiled feeling the satisfying pulses ripple through her as she collapsed into the pillows with a hushed moan and her jaw tightly clinched. Casey's hands dropped and she grabbed the comforter of her bed in her fists and then relaxed a second later. Alex kissed her a few more times then left a trail of kisses moving back up her body.

Wrapping her legs around Alex, Casey chuckled and put her hands on her cheeks. Alex had only reached her sternum with her kisses, but Casey forced her to stop and look up. With the slightest indication Alex knew what she wanted and she moved up and kissed her on the lips. Now the taste of wine and beer was intermingled with the taste of herself, but Casey didn't care. She loved kissing Alex and that was why she just kept doing it. It was why she kept kissing her every time they were alone. She loved the way Alex sometimes smiled when their lips touched and how she wasn't stubbly or forceful. Alex Cabot's kisses were graceful, poised kisses laced with the knowledge that Casey coveted them.


	32. Chapter Thirty-One

**Chapter Thirty-One**

Casey woke up in Alex's arms with sunlight just beginning to trickle in through her curtains. It was Saturday and she had nowhere to be. She literally had nowhere to be and nothing to do until dinner with Alex again later. She stretched her legs out and felt Alex respond to her movement by pulling her closer. Casey laced their fingers and then kissed Alex's hand.

"Novak, are you awake?" Alex whispered.

"Barely. Did I wake you up?"

"No, I always wake up early."

"Me too. No matter how late I stay up." She rolled over and looked at Alex in the fresh sunlight. She had slept in a bit, but it was nothing significant.

They'd kicked off the comforter at some point and Alex had the sheet pulled up just to her waist. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders and she looked like someone out of a movie, squinting slightly in the morning light. She was pillowing her head on her arm. "Tonight," she began. "I made reservations."

"Where?" Casey mirrored Alex's pose.

"A surprise, but be ready to go at six. Dress nice."

"Yes, ma'am, but for right now I'd like to just stay in bed." She reached out and touched the small bruise that she left at the base of the other woman's neck, "Sorry about that."

"It's what makeup's for. You though..." She sat up and looked over Casey's shoulder, "You cannot wear a backless dress tonight, which is a shame."

Casey craned her neck to try and get a glimpse of her own back. Red streaks started at her shoulders and curved down to her sides and there were more on her lower back. She lay down on her stomach and crossed her arms beneath her head.

"Do they hurt? I didn't realize my nails..."

"It's fine."

Alex ran her hands over the scratches. They weren't bad, but they were noticeable on Casey's pale skin as bright pink and red marks. She leaned down and kissed a few of them then said, "I'm getting lunch with Liv today."

"Are you making it a point to have meals with everyone I told about us?"

"Yes," she kissed her again. "I have to clear up everything you've told them."

"What're you telling them, Cabot?"

She kissed her back again, "Well...I told Liz that I wasn't sure what was going on either, but that I like you in a school-girl crush sort of way because you're weird."

"And what did she say?"

"She laughed at me, gave me that motherly look that she does, and then reminded me of my age. Then she told me never to mention it to her again."

"Ah, and what are you planning to tell Olivia?"

"What should I tell Olivia?" Alex moved Casey's hair aside and began dotting kisses on her shoulders.

"Stop talking."

"It would be rude to tell Olivia to stop talking at lunch, Novak."

Casey couldn't help but laugh and then she said, "Just lay back down."

"Do you mind if I shower here before I go?" She pulled the sheet down lower on Casey's back and ran her hand across the base of her spine.

"No. There's also some spare toothbrushes under the sink in my bathroom. You can use the shower in there if you want. Extra towels in the closet."

"You have spare toothbrushes?"

"Yeah. I mean, they're mine. I buy things in bulk, but you can have one."

"Is it a gift?" She asked, still sitting up.

"Is it a...yes, it's a gift."

Pleased, Alex lay back down close to Casey and draped her arm over her back.

Casey woke up at nearly noon because her phone was ringing in her bag on the kitchen counter where she left it absentmindedly the night before. She also left a half empty beer on her coffee table and her shoes by the couch. She must've been out cold and Alex slipped out quietly. She'd left a note on a napkin by the coffee maker saying: _See you at 6. Will have my phone this time._

When Casey got to her phone it had stopped ringing. It was Olivia. She made a pensive face and started the coffee maker while calling her back. Once the coffee was brewing and the phone ringing, she walked back into her bathroom. Alex had used a toothbrush and left it on the counter. Casey dropped it next to her toothbrush in one of the holes in the holder. Alex had also showered and draped a plush blue towel over the the shower door. Casey couldn't believe she'd slept through all of the activity in her bathroom.

"Hey, Casey," Olivia finally answered as Casey was hanging up the towel on a towel hanger behind her door.

"Sorry I missed your call. I was still asleep somehow."

"I was wondering if you knew where Alex was. She was supposed to be meeting me for lunch and she hasn't shown up yet. I tried calling her and got no answer."

"Oh...I know she didn't have her phone. She left it in her hotel room. I don't know if she was planning on running back by there before or after lunch with you."

Olivia laughed a little, "Are you telling me that Alex stayed with you last night and possibly is on her way to eat lunch with me in what she wore out with you last night?"

A long awkward pause followed before Casey said, "Um..."

"I'll wait. I don't have any other plans today, but I feel bad sitting at this table and not ordering anything. It isn't like her to be late."

"She was late last night and I'm not sure what time she left here."

"So she did spend the night..." Benson mused.

"Yes, but listen, Liv. I'm going to take a shower now." She was after all standing naked in her bathroom, looking at the scratches on her back.

"Alright. I'll see you Monday, I'm sure."

"Have a good day." Casey tossed her phone onto the vanity and then proceeded to take an insanely long and hot shower. As she pulled on her bathrobe she saw her phone flashing again. She'd missed two more called from Olivia. She brushed her teeth and called her back.

"What hotel is Alex saying at?" The detective asked immediately.

"Oh, uh, same one as last time. Why? What's going on?"

"She never showed up."

"What?" Casey's phone slipped from her hand and into the sink. She scrambled around to pick it up. "Sorry. Sorry. If you said anything I missed it."

"Alex never showed up for lunch. I called to see if there were accidents or-"

"Hold on. Hold on."

"I don't know, Case. I've gotta go."

Casey dialed Alex and the phone rang and rang then went to her voicemail, "Olivia is freaking out. I hope you went back to your hotel and fell asleep or something. Call Liv and call me back as soon as you get this. I think she's on her way to your hotel and so am I...I think. Maybe."

...

Olivia and Casey arrived at the hotel at roughly the same time. Casey had parked up the block and was approaching the entrance when Olivia pulled up right to the door. Casey followed her in. She already had her badge out. Casey kept telling herself over and over that Benson was overreacting, but then she asked herself why she was there too. She felt something extremely unpleasant in the pit of her stomach and pawing at the back of her mind.

Clark the clerk was at the front desk and Casey vaguely remembered him. Alex had told him she didn't want any calls to her room the night that the man followed them and ruined Casey's plans for a sushi dinner.

"I need you to call Alex Novak's room for me, please," Olivia said forcefully.

The young man did some typing into the computer and then said, "There's no one here by that name."

Olivia then snapped her badge onto the counter and said again, "Alex Cabot's room, now please."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but-"

"She checked in yesterday afternoon, leaving Sunday," Casey butted in. "You know her. She's the lawyer always on the news. She works in DC."

"I'm sorry, but you're both mistaken. There is no guest here by that name and no one checked in under that name yesterday. I'm also not sure who she is. If you'd like I can give you some numbers to other nearby hotels where she might be staying."

"How about you give us your manager instead?" Olivia looked at his nametag and added on a seething, "Please, Clark."

He nodded and retreated into the back office.

"Are you sure she said she was staying here?" Olivia turned to Casey quickly.

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes. She's pretty fond of Clark and clerk, actually."

Olivia's eyes narrowed as the tall, older man came to the desk and said, "How can I help you ladies today?"

Casey noticed Clark walking down the hall at a rather brisk pace away from them. She turned and watched him as Olivia showed her badge again and said, "I'm trying to get in touch with Alex Cabot."

"Oh, Ms. Cabot," he knew exactly who she was talking about. "I was here when she checked in yesterday. We weren't expecting her back until next weekend, but she called to see if we had any rooms for her and we did."

Casey grabbed Olivia's arm, jerked her and pointed, "Clark went that way."

"Huh?"

"Come back here, you lying little shit!" Casey yelled down the hall.

"Novak, stay!" Olivia commanded and then went running down the hallway, badge in hand.

"What's the problem, ma'am?" The manager asked.

"The problem is that little asshole Clark told us that Alex Cabot wasn't staying here."

"She is. I haven't seen her today, but I checked her in myself yesterday and then saw her leave shortly after. I can take you up to her room if you'd like, but I'm not sure where my front desk attendant went..."

"Just put up a sign and take me to her room," she snapped.

He cowered, "Yes, ma'am. Are you also a police officer?"

"No, but I'm with the one chasing after your suspicious desk attendant."

"Can you just let me-"

"No. Take me to her room right now."

"But it's against-"

"I know it is. I'm a fucking lawyer, now just do it."

He cleared his throat and then put up a sign expressing that someone would be at the front desk to provide assistance in a moment. She followed him into the elevator and they only went up a few floors. He talked almost incessantly, unable to stand silence. Babbling about how Alex was supposed to be in a suite, but they weren't expecting her so she had to be put in a standard room, but how she was very polite about it. Usually people like her were rude and complained endlessly about everything.

When he knocked, announced himself and then unlocked the door, Casey pushed shoved him aside and went in. Alex's phone was sitting on the counter in the bathroom with numerous missed calls, exactly where she said she left it. Her suitcase was on the bed, open. It didn't look like she'd been back.

Just then her phone began ringing from the front pocket of her jeans.

"Are you still in the lobby?" Olivia asked when she picked up.

"I got the manager to take me up to Alex's room. I don't think she came back here today."

"Go back down to the front desk and stay there. Stay in front of the security cameras and do not move. I'm calling this in and I'll be back in just a few minutes. Clark went tearing down the street and then got into a minivan. I got the plates, just go back to the lobby and stay put."

"Ok," she said, but Olivia had already hung up.

"Do you mind telling me what's going on?" The manager asked as she pushed past him again and went back toward the elevator. He followed.

"Ask one of the cops," she told him.

They went back down together and she took a seat on a not very comfortable chair right in view of one of the security cameras. She held her phone in a fist and sat up perfectly straight and still, picking a point to stare at across the room. Her hair was still damp and it was cold in the lobby. She thought about her hair and not about whatever was happening.

Olivia came back in through the front moving at a solid jog. She didn't seem winded although her hair was stuck to her forehead from sweat. "Casey, I'm going to take you down to the precinct as soon as the unis get here, alright?"

"Why?" She asked, shifting her glance to something behind Olivia.

The detective went over to the manager at the desk and said, "I need the contact information you have for Clark, and so help me God if you make me get a warrant..."

"Yes, ma'am." The man was incredibly frightened whenever women raised their voices at him. "One moment."

Olivia turned to Casey again and put her hands on her shoulders, "A letter was delivered to the precinct about half an hour ago. I'm off so no one thought to call me."

Casey looked at her expressionlessly, waiting for her to go on. The letter was obviously relevant and there was no need for a dramatic pause.

"It was another eye-"

"Oh, fuck no," she gasped and covered her mouth.

"No. No. It wasn't Alex's. It was a brown eye. The third vic maybe, but it was addressed to SVU." Casey let her arm drop and looked utterly vacant again. Olivia shook her slightly, making sure she was still listening because it didn't look like she was. "It was more religious rambling, but then it said something about eyes remaining and then it said that for every hour that it takes for us to get you to join them they will..."

"They will what? Just tell me. Just fucking tell me." Her voice was flat and harsh, but not loud.

"They will cut off one finger of the fornicator."

"Oh, fuck." Casey slumped forward, feeling like she was going to pass out.

"Don't worry. We're going to find her and you're going to the precinct to wait until we do."

"Ma'am. Here is all of Clark's information that he provided when he was hired," the manager beckoned her back over.

Sirens wailed as two squad cars pulled up behind Olivia's car. She greeted the uniforms at the door who came inside. She pointed one toward the front desk and spoke with another. All her words sounded like incoherent mumbling to Casey. The third, a smaller man, younger came over toward Casey.

"Ms. Novak, I'll be taking you down to the precinct."

"I only put an hour's worth of change in the meter for my car," she commented, but got to her feet and started to follow him outside.

"Casey?" Olivia called after her. She hadn't instructed that officer to do anything at all.

"That guy looked like Gray," the female officer she spoke to said. "My partner and I were the only ones in the area, but he pulled in behind us. We thought..."

Olivia shoved the paper with Clark's information on it into her hand and went tearing out the door. The blue minivan she'd just called in had been making loops around the block and she saw the officer shove her into the side door and jump in afterward.

"Stop! Police!" She yelled and pulled out her service pistol, but to no avail. She hoped for a clear shot to shoot out a tire or something, but no clear shot came.


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two

_**Warning:** The following chapter(s) get weird and bad and then worse. You may be disturbed if you carry on reading. Torture ahead. I'm sorry, everyone._

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

The note delivered to the precinct was typed and printed in the same plain font.

_To whom it may concern in the Special Victims Unit,_

_Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. Our eyes have remained on you as well and we will take a finger from the Fornicator for every hour that Novak does not join us._

Below was another eye, dangling by its optic nerve, secured with a piece of tape just like the first eye. Warner was running tests to see whose eye it was already by the time Olivia called to tell them her gut believed something awful happened to Alex. Olivia spoke with Cragen who had no idea who the Fornicator could be.

"It's Alex," Olivia answered, quickly putting the pieces together. "I'll explain when I get there."

"You're off today-"

"It's Alex!" She had screamed into her phone at him. It didn't matter if she was on vacation in Bora Bora.

...

Officer Gray shoved Casey face first into the van before she had time to realize anything was amiss. She was fixated on the thought of Alex's fingers being sawed off one by one and couldn't shake the horrendous image. She also thought of them scooping out Alex's eyes, however they did it...with some sort of spoon device or something. This was all her fault.

Then suddenly she was facedown on the dirty floor of a minivan when she thought the nice police officer was taking her to the precinct. The van lurched forward and she was jostled into coherency. When she looked up she saw Clark the clerk sitting above her along with the NYPD officer and there was a middle-aged man driving who looked like she imagined Icabod Crane would look - all of his features were long and bony and his hair was wispy. Clark held her still and the uni tied her hands behind her back with some thin rope and fancy knots. None of them spoke.

She'd realized she'd gotten herself kidnapped and couldn't even bring herself to panic properly. She felt mainly like an idiot and she just sat dejected on the floor staring at her tennis shoes. She wanted to freak out and lose her shit, screaming and kicking, putting up some sort of valiant fight, but she couldn't find the energy nor coordination to do so.

"Will you let Alex go now that you have me?" She asked, absently. "I know you have her somewhere."

"No," Gray answered.

"But you-"

"You misunderstand," Clark said. "I'm sure Detective Benson told you about our correspondence with her people. We had no doubt we would get you. This is all on you. The faster you join us the more fingers your liberal lawyer lover gets to keep. We just wanted to keep SVU in the loop."

"For fuck's sake, just let her go."

The man driving slammed on the brakes and sent Casey careening into the back of his seat. He mumbled, "Language, Ms. Novak."

"She's part of your initiation," Gray told her. "So we can't just release her back into the world."

"What makes you think I'll join your little club? Why do you even want me?"

"Because you are methodical and organized and you are also very unhappy in your present life," he answered her.

"I was perfectly happy until you insane shits became a part of it."

"Were you though? You were driven to sinful, carnal pleasures."

She cringed and asked, "If I join though you'll Alex go?"

"No, no. You misunderstand again," Clark said with a smile. "She just gets to keep her fingers."

All she needed to do was stall them. Olivia had gotten the license plate from the van and they'd track it down and everything would be fine. She just needed to keep them talking, fake them out if she needed to. It would buy time.

"We were all unhappy before," Gray said to her, rather kindly.

"If I join you, what will I have to do? What does all of this entail? I really need to know all of the...uh, fine print before I get on your bandwagon."

"You'll see. We'll test your faith."

...

Alex regained consciousness bound to a wooden chair in a dark room. Her hands were tied behind her around the back of the chair and then in turn tied to her ankles, which were stretched taut below the chair. She moved suddenly and felt the binds tighten on both her wrists and ankles. She couldn't remember much and she couldn't see a damn thing in the dark, plus her glasses were missing.

Someone behind her had said, "Excuse me."

She had just come out of Casey's apartment and now she was in this place.

"Hello, Alexandra Cabot," a woman's voice said from somewhere in the shadows. "My name is Ruth."

She'd been hit over the head with something as far as she could tell and the pain radiated around to the front of her face and throbbed in her left eye socket. She said nothing. She would not respond unless asked a direct question and then she would only respond with her name, position, and date of birth. It was similar to the Code of Conduct followed by the military if one became a prisoner of war. She'd been trained to do so before going to the Congo.

"I was afraid Elimelech hit you over the head too hard. You were out for a long time. Sometimes he doesn't know his own strength," Ruth said to her, still remaining unseen in the dark.

The only light in the room was a bulb directly above her. She looked down and saw a concrete floor below. She was in a cellar, she assumed, or a basement. It was damp, but smelled like bleach and other cleaners, maybe latex too.

"You have a very special job today, Alexandra."

The woman wasn't going to ask her any questions, it seemed. It was fine with her and her head was throbbing.

"You are going to be a sacrifice for the Lord, Jesus Christ."

A door opened above her. She heard the creak and then she saw several figures silhouetted in the new source of light. They looked about a mile away to her. Another light clicked on, illuminating the stairs and she saw three men leading Casey down. She also saw Ruth standing at the base of the stairs, a surprisingly mousy woman. They were in a basement. There was another chair sitting a few feet in front of her and there were some tables of some sort with tools and other things on them that she couldn't see very well from her position. It was still dark along the perimeter of the room. It was a large basement.

One of the men was Clark and she felt her heart sink. He was even dressed in his front desk attire as if to make more of a fool out of her. It was Clark who gave Casey a firm shove from behind sending her stumbling down in front of Alex where she hit her cheek on Alex's knee. Casey had bitten her cheek when she her face collided, but kept quiet as warm blood started to fill her mouth. She huddled on the floor next to the one familiar person in the room and rested her forehead on her knee. Seeing her intact and being able to touch her made her feel worlds better although she expected that they both may die at the hands of these fucking nuts.

After a moment, Casey spit out a mouthful of blood onto the cement floor and then said as quietly as she could, "Alex, I'm so sorry."

"Shh," she responded, not harshly, but soothingly. She moved her hands around behind her, testing the knots again, and it only served to tighten the ropes on her ankles.

"That's enough," Clark said and grasped Casey's elbow. He pulled her to her feet and then forced her down in the second chair.

"My name is Ruth, Ms. Novak. We're not big on ceremony because we believe in a personal God," Ruth told her. She looked to be in her mid-forties and Casey winced when she saw the glimmer from the scalpel she held in one fist as she circled her chair like a vulture. "Do you believe in a personal God?"

Casey looked up at her and the woman brought the scalpel down to her neck. She swallowed hard ignoring the strong metallic taste in her mouth, "Y-yes. Sure."

"And you have agreed to join us?"

She nodded and looked toward Alex, "Yes."

"Don't look at her."

Feeling the side of the blade against her neck she moved her eyes up toward the woman with her wild hair, big eyes and small frame. Blood started to trickle out of the corner of her mouth and she asked, "Can't she join too?"

"You're not one of us yet," Ruth said. "Only the Inner Circle may make decisions about new members. You're not even an initiate, honey."

Clark clicked his tongue over to the other side of her and then laughed and Officer Gray responded, "That's sweet, Ms. Novak, but only you were in Paul's vision."

Alex tried to will Casey to just stop talking. She needed to think. She'd been trained to think in these absolutely idiotic situations that never seemed like they'd really happen, but should couldn't think if everyone was talking. She was no stranger to people trying to kill her, but it hadn't quite been like this and the stabbing pain through her head was becoming unbearable. She had concluded that these were some members of the cult that had eluded capture and it also occurred to her that all of the others being captured had been part of a plan. Their endgame was pretty obtuse and she wondered what they planned to do with Casey after they "converted" her. She was fairly certain she wouldn't be alive to find out.

They'd tied her up very well, but it looked like Casey was bound dramatically less securely. She also noticed that Casey cellphone was sticking out of her right front pocket in plain view and she hoped that it was still on and that the authorities knew she was missing and were pinging the shit out of it. Casey followed Alex's eyes down to the pocket of her jeans and then looked back up at Ruth and asked her this time, "Can you just let her go, please?"

"No, unfortunately we can't. One of the most important parts of joining is that you destroy the object of your sin."

"My sin?"

"This temptress got to you before we could and you gave in to her. That's alright though because we are going to cleanse you. In fact, the cleansing is where we're going to start. Elimelech, Gabriel," she motioned the older man and Officer Gray over. Elimelech, presumably her husband, had a tray full of various medical blades and Gray, or Gabriel, was carrying some sort of table.

Casey tried to maintain her composure, but she couldn't stop herself from shaking. She looked across at Alex, who was remaining perfectly stoic and staring at something past her.

"Don't look at her," Ruth said again. "Raphael."

Clark nodded and without the slightest hesitation he took a few steps toward Alex and punched her in the jaw - a solid, closed-fisted punch. Casey looked down and let out a faint cry then closed her mouth tightly. Alex shook her head to clear her vision and looked back up, not making a sound. She was incredibly pissed off that she had left an amazing review for the stupid hotel on their website and specifically mentioned this damn kid.

"We're going to cut you free because we trust you, do you understand?" Ruth asked and Casey nodded slightly being extremely careful not to look even slightly in Alex's direction though she was straight in front of her. Elimelech had sat the tray of blades on the folding table near her. "Try to run and we kill her, do you understand?" She nodded again.

Gray slipped behind her and used a larger kitchen knife to cut the ropes on her wrists. She slowly brought her hands around front and put them in her lap, covering her phone with her forearm. None of them had seemed to have noticed that she had it. She prayed to some non-specific god that it wouldn't ring.

Ruth circled her again and then said, "Raphael, what is the first step to cleansing?"

"Atonement."

"And how do we atone?"

"Mortification of the flesh."


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

Ruth nodded because Clark was very good at giving correct answers apparently. The woman then knelt down to Casey's level. She smiled kindly, but still had crazy eyes, wide and bright. "You know that, don't you? You know about how we repent. You saw those girls. It was a shame about Amelia. She would have been a great member, very smart and obedient, but Alan slipped up...got too excited. He was so excited and just so eager to help her cleanse."

"Why her eyes?" Casey choked out.

"Very good question," Ruth got back to her feet and then walked over to Alex and put her hand on her shoulder. "Amelia had seen sin and she wouldn't be able to enter Heaven with those dirty, dirty eyes."

"She was...raped. How does that come into play?"

"Raped? No. She was one of Alan's wives."

Alex accidentally let a disgusted sound escape her throat and Ruth dug her fingers into her back shoving them behind her shoulder blade and making her bend dramatically. She clinched her jaw and said nothing. Casey closed her eyes and then asked, "Lindsay was Alan's other wife?"

"Yes. You are a clever woman. No wonder the Lord sent you to us." Ruth let Alex go and returned to Casey, "Alan donated Lindsay as a sacrifice for our cause and she was perfect because it was her father who betrayed us. It worked out so well. Lindsay was only an initiate and personally, I didn't see much potential in her. She couldn't be trust after she told on her own father's proclivities. Honor thy mother and father."

"What about Victoria, the Messenger?"

"Oh, that poor girl was led astray. She did not believe in our sacrifice and would not renounce her doubtful beliefs. She spoke out against Paul and Paul was her husband."

"Ok," Casey didn't want to know more about the girls. She figured it out, at least as much of it as she wanted to figure out at the moment. She still needed to keep her talking and she tried her best to seem interested with her next question, "How long does the initiation take?"

This made Ruth and the three men excited. She was very glad to talk about this subject, "Ms. Novak, you will be glad to know that you have been fast-tracked. Normally initiation is weeks and weeks, sometimes months, sometimes years. It depends largely upon the individual and how...willing...they are to repent and destroy the objects of their sin." She laughed very happily, "Paul told us that you were chosen and set this plan into motion."

Casey wondered how this insane woman had been left in charge when women in the group seemed to be subservient to their men. Elimelech was her husband, she assumed. She couldn't figure out a way to ask that wouldn't potentially enrage her. It didn't matter though because she continued talking on her own with Casey nodding her head and pretending to care.

"We all have high hopes that you will be a member very soon. Paul said you would move through the circles rapidly. We are going to start building an army and members will be born into our group. We will crush the idolators and you will help us. You will be one of the queens, birthing our soldiers and our missionaries."

That didn't sound very fulfilling at all - being some sort of broodmare. She said nothing.

Ruth was still not done, "Paul saw you in a vision. He said we had to save you. Jordan Borden wanted bad things to happen to you, but Paul...Paul saw me leading you to the light. It was a great honor. He set this brilliant plan into motion and here we are."

Alex also figured out what Casey was doing. Ruth loved to talk and loved to hear herself talk. Casey was giving someone time to find them and she decided it was best if she just kept her mouth shut. Casey wondered why it was so dark if she was supposedly being lead into the light. She also wondered if any of these people could even wrap their minds around the symbolism and the potential for creating some dramatic effects by turning on more and more lights and she progressed through their bullshit. The things that people think of when their lives are in danger and when they know something awful is about to happen is a strange psychological phenomenon - Casey thought about this too.

"Take your shirt off," Ruth told her and pointed the scalpel at her.

She nodded and began to unbutton it, her hands shaking terribly the entire time and she kept looking down, fearing what would happen if they even thought she looked at Alex. The man called Elimelech was unimpressed with her speed and began helping her roughly. He grabbed the back of the collar and yanked it off of her, throwing it aside.

"Raphael, as the youngest, you may have the honor of the first cleanse," Ruth told Clark.

He picked out a scalpel and then knelt down in front of Casey. She was looking down and to the side, making a futile attempt to cover herself and hide her cellphone with her arm at the same time. He said nicely, "Move your arms."

She didn't. She couldn't. Clark nodded just slightly, the most subtle motion. Casey caught it only because he was so close to her. Behind him, Ruth took her scalpel and ran it slowly and carefully down Alex's chest, which was exposed in her dress.

Casey couldn't see and she would have done her best not to look if she could see, but she heard Alex scream.

"Move your arms," Clark said again.

She did as he said and gripped the arms of the plain wooden chair. He ran his index finger of the lace edge of her bra and then placed the blade of the scalpel between her breasts. She whispered, "Please, don't."

"What? I didn't hear you."

"Please, don't," she said a little louder.

"What was that, Ms. Novak?" She didn't say it again and he said, "It sounded like you told me not to begin your cleansing. There's always a little reluctance, but you'll learn to like it." He stood up and whirled around, backhanding Alex across the opposite side of the face that he punched before. Ruth had stepped aside

Casey looked up and glimpsed Alex with her head turned and her eyes tightly closed. A red line marked her chest, bright in the artificial lighting. Casey looked away quickly, but it was too late and Clark swapped his scalpel to his left hand and directed another punch directly as Alex's face, this one connecting with the side of her nose and right eye.

"Stop. Stop," Casey said meekly and covered her face with her hands, forcing herself not to look.

"Very good," he said and returned to her. "Now move your arms."

She put them back on the arms of the chair and closed her eyes as tightly as she could, but that wouldn't do.

He placed the scalpel there on her sternum again and told her, "Open your eyes, Ms. Novak. Remember that if you fight this then she'll be punished." He was talking about Alex and he confirmed with her, "Do you understand?"

She nodded and held on to the chair, forcing her eyes open and watching as he made the slightest incision on her chest. It took a few seconds for it to start bleeding and it didn't hurt. She didn't know if it was because the blade was so sharp or because of her adrenaline and then she decided it didn't matter. She whimpered when Gray and then Elimelech made similar cuts on her stomach. Ruth went last. She added a deeper diagonal cut near Casey's bellybutton causing her to grind her teeth. Each cut was only about an inch long, not like Alex's.

When Ruth was done and stood back up she said, "We keep our tools very sharp and very clean, so you don't need to worry. If you get an infection then it is the will of God."

It was taking everything Casey had not to scream. If she opened her mouth to respond she was certain that all that would come out would be screaming. She just nodded, kept her jaw clinched and clung to the chair as if her life depended on it. If she loosened her grip she knew she would try to run.

Alex watched. They seemed to want her to watch, at least no one was abused when she looked straight ahead of her. She felt her eye swelling shut and she kept trying to loosen the bindings on her wrists, but to no avail. She watched as Elimelech held the tray of surgical knives out in front of Casey.

Ruth said, "Alright, your turn."

"Huh?" Casey squeaked.

"We can only cleanse you so much. The rest you have to do yourself."

"Take whichever one you like," Gray encouraged. "Some are better than others for atonement than others, like these over here." He indicated the blades on the left side.

She managed to release her grip on the chair and she edged her hand toward a small curved scalpel. Trembling she held onto the handle, afraid she would drop it.

"Good choice," said Ruth. "Now go ahead."

She looked up at the woman as doe-eyed as Alex had ever seen her. She couldn't believe she was going along with this insanity, but she understood why. Unfortunately, Casey was dilly-dallying and they had no time for it. Before Alex could brace herself, Clark had turned and punched her in the mouth. The back of her head banged into the back of the chair and she soon tasted blood. She managed to sit her head back up to see Casey dragging the scalpel across her own stomach. She couldn't watch anymore and closed her eyes.

Casey refused to cry though she was utterly terrified and all of the cuts were beginning to sting more and more. The tears were there, just building. She made the cut, a little one-inch one and hoped it would be enough. She wanted to get Ruth to talk more, but she couldn't think of questions.

"Again," Ruth commanded.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Casey was shaking so badly she nearly dropped the blade. As she tried to regain her grip on it and steady her hand so not to slip and slice open an intestine or something equally fucking awful, Clark punched Alex in the stomach. She let out a groan and Casey whimpered, but held her hand still and added another cut of about the same size to her abdomen. She was careful not to go deep and the scalpels cut so easily.

"Another."

Her vision was being clouded by tears. She made the next cut quickly, trying to save Alex some suffering. She kept telling herself the cuts didn't hurt so bad and she tried to dissociate her body and her hand and somehow imagine that neither was actually part of her. It was someone else's hand making cuts on someone else's stomach. Alex was being punched in the face and these little cuts were like the ones she got shaving her legs.

"Again," Ruth said with more fervor.

Alex looked and saw their captors grinning and wide eyed. Casey added another cut and Alex looked away again. The first cuts had begun to ooze blood.

That was when Casey's phone rang. The ringtone blared in the quiet causing her to drop her scalpel. It clattered to the floor and everyone froze. The grins all faded.

"What's that?" Ruth asked.

No one said anything and the phone kept ringing.

"What is that?" She asked again.

"My ph-ph-phone," Casey said, her voice cracking. "It's in my pocket."

"Boys, boys...my boys...my angels..." She spoke sweetly to them as the phone continued to ring and vibrate. Casey didn't dare touch it and Ruth's expression then shifted to one of complete displeasure, "You let Ms. Novak keep her phone?"

Elimelech, Gray and Clark stood in a line very still with their arms at their sides. Ruth took a step toward them, losing interest in Casey for a moment. She grabbed onto the arms of the chair again and held on tight. She started to bore her fingernails into it. She wanted her hands to hurt and not the burning cuts. Alex looked around, shaking her head and trying to open the eye that was swelling shut. She needed to see. Luckily she was nearsighted, since her glasses were missing.

"I should take a finger from each of you for this!" Ruth suddenly screamed.

"Yes, Ruth," they all said in an eerie unison.

She continued berating and reprimanding them, demanding penance. Elimelech had left the tray of knives next to her. Ruth's back was now to her, but she couldn't take on the three men and she knew it, even though Clark was a frumpy, chubby guy.

Alex saw the knives as well and nodded toward them, but Casey wasn't looking at her. Casey could get the knife and cut her free, they could run or at least she wouldn't die tied to a wooden chair. Casey was too petrified to move, entranced by the four people to her right. Her phone stopped ringing.

Alex's lower lip was bleeding where it had impacted with her teeth during one of the punches and she felt it swelling too. Her face had become a mass of pain and there was a dull ache in her stomach that compelled her to double over, but she couldn't. Blood was beginning to drip down to her dress.

"Which one of you retrieved Ms. Novak?" Ruth asked the men.

"I did, ma'am," Gray said very quickly and very obediently.

"Take your own finger. Any finger you like."

He nodded firmly and everyone watched as he walked over into the shadows and turned on a light above some sort of workbench or surgical table. There were assorted tools nearby...tools and weapons. The man still in his police uniform placed his left hand down on the table in front of him and then picked up a small mechanical saw. The buzzing made Casey grind her teeth even more and Ruth directed the other two men over to Gray.

Casey closed her eyes, but Alex watched unable to look away then. This was becoming more and more of a train wreck. She was mortified and watched the police officer saw off his own pinky finger. He screamed a primal, guttural scream but pressed on. When he finished he collapsed and Elimelech caught him while Clark started to tend the blood spurting out of his hand. The man cut off his own finger without hesitation and she knew they wouldn't hesitate at all to kill her or Casey if they saw fit.

When Casey's phone began to ring again, Ruth remembered her. Her insane power trip had made her forget about the object that caused her rage in the first place. She stomped back over and took the phone from her pocket, turning it off. She threw it to Elimelech, who caught it. She said to them, "Elimelech, take Gabriel upstairs and put him to bed. Get rid of that phone. Raphael and I will oversee the next step."

Gray's limp finger was sitting on the table in the bright white light. Alex couldn't stop staring at it. It looked sort of like a white sausage with a little pool of red sauce.

"Alexandra Cabot," Ruth finally spoke to her. "Fornicator and temptress. What do you think about that, huh?"

"My name is Alexandra Cabot. I'm an employee of the International Criminal Court. My birthdate is-"

Ruth slapped her and then Casey finally crumbled. She remained in the chair and covered her face again, smearing blood on her arms and torso. She started crying uncontrollably. The pain and the reality of the situation finally catching up to her.

Clark walked up behind her and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back and jerking her arms from her face with his other hand. He said softly to her, "You get to watch now."

"Don't kill her, please. Just don't kill her. I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"We want you to watch," Ruth said. "That is what we want you to do."

Clark added, "It isn't time for her to be sacrificed yet."

He remained behind Casey, holding her head up and wrapping his arm around her, keeping her own arms down. Ruth selected a new blade and returned to Alex.

"Do you have anything to say, Ms. Cabot?"

"My name is-" Her mantra turned into a scream as Ruth lifted up the hem of her dress and slowly stabbed the deep-penetrating scalpel into the upper inside of her thigh.

"Don't worry. I'm not so incompetent to hit the femoral artery. We're not done with you yet and we'd hate to lose you prematurely," Ruth spoke with a sickeningly sweet voice and stabbed the blade in nice and slow again nearly as far as it would go.

She repeated the process until there was a significant dotting of small stab wounds covering Alex's right thigh. Her screams eventually went silent and she held her breath, making Casey's sobs the only sound in the room. Clark checked on Casey periodically to make sure she hadn't closed her eyes and he kept reminding her not to try to run.

"Now, now..." Ruth dropped the scalpel onto the tray and left Alex's bleeding leg exposed as she walked over into the shadows. In a sing-song voice the woman said, "Another of your vices is...the drink, so let's see how you like it now..."

Ruth returned with a gallon-sized plastic bottle of cheap vodka and Alex grimaced, looking away from her leg and knowing what was coming. The woman unscrewed the cap and tossed it aside and then began dumping the clear liquid onto the open wounds. It came out in noisy glugs along with Casey begging her to stop. Alex screamed and stiffened, tightening the ropes on both her wrists and ankles and not caring. The ropes started to cut into her as she tried in vain to pull away from the woman causing her blinding pain.

Her pleas went ignored and Ruth boarded her soap box, "Both of you are guilty of attempting to drown your problems and your sadness in the drink. You want to hide your pain with alcohol, but now the very crutch that has served you is causing you so much hurt. That is how all false happiness is. The only true happiness is in salvation with us."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Casey said and then, "Just leave her alone."

But Ruth did not. She threw a splash of the vodka in Alex's face, stinging the cut on her lip and the one that had opened under her swollen eye.

"My name is Alexandra Cabot and I don't even fucking like vodka, you crazy bitch," she hissed.

This only served to make Ruth add another dose of the drink to her thigh and then hit her in the face with the half-empty bottle.

"Shut up, Alex!" Casey screamed and then Clark's arm moved up and across her neck, choking her slightly.

"Don't talk to her," he said. "It's almost your turn."

She dreaded what her turn might entail and the room began to spin.

Alex closed her mouth, regretting it but realizing that once hitting a threshold of pain it doesn't really get worse, it just seems to stay the same. She writhed around, but stopped when she finally noticed the ropes cutting into her skin. She hadn't even noticed due to the pain elsewhere. She tried to relax so the binds would loosen as she sat there bleeding all over her stupid dress. She mentally reprimanded herself for thinking about the stupid dress and her stupid shoes were going to be ruined too. Once she seemed to calm down, Ruth went over to the tray and held it out to Casey again.

"Choose from this side," she said, pointing to the slightly different scalpels on the right side of the tray. They weren't just for cutting the top layers of for skin, they were for cutting through muscle and deeper layers, all of the layers.

Casey, shaking and with tears still streaking her face chose the one she thought looked the least menacing. She swallowed hard and wiped her eyes with the back of her arm, trying to her shit back together so she could stall properly and not fuck up and have them kill Alex in front of her.

"Your turn now," Clark said, but she stayed sitting in the chair. She didn't feel like her legs could work. Her knees felt like they didn't exist and she couldn't stop shaking. When she hesitated for more than a few seconds, he yanked the scalpel from her hand and toppled her out of the chair so that she ended up on the floor in front of Alex again. She could put out her hands this time and stopped herself from crashing into her, but she skinned both of her palms on the cement.

"Take her dress off," Ruth told her. "Don't be shy. We're sure it's nothing you haven't seen before, Ms. Novak."

Casey got up, using Alex's chair for support and ignoring the new pain from her hands. Alex didn't look at her, she stared at the tray of knives with a return to her stoicism. Casey tried not to look at the bruises on her face as she reached around to the back of her neck and unclasped the dress. She started to slide the dress down in the front and placed her hand briefly on Alex's neck. Alex didn't respond to it at all and the two observing them didn't notice as if they'd gone completely dumb with glee from all of the cutting and stabbing and everything else.

Alex was thinking. She knew in the pit of her stomach what was going to happen next, but she also knew that the older woman and the young man were not nearly as effective at watching the situation than the four of them had been. She barely noticed when Casey touched her and barely registered when the dress was bunched around her waist.

Clark handed the scalpel back to her and said, "Go until we stay stop."

"Where?" She stood over Alex scared to do what they wanted and horrified not to.

"Wherever you want."

"What if I-"

"Don't kill her. You may an attorney, but I'm sure you understand some basic anatomy.""

Alex looked catatonic and Casey braced herself with her left hand on the arm of the chair, holding the scalpel and shaking uncontrollably with her right hand. She took too long again, trying to steady her hand, but this time they left Alex alone.

Clark stormed up behind her and grabbed her by the elbow, he jerked her around and threw her down to the concrete and into the chair she'd been sitting in. The chair scraped across the floor and came to a stop facing the table instead of Alex. She held on tightly to the scalpel and had the sense to hold the sharp end away from her body. Her initial impulse was to get to her feet and that stab the shitty kid in his face with it, but she remained on the floor.

"Do we need to cleanse you more? Bleed more of the evil from your body?" Ruth questioned.

She didn't react and Clark jumped on top of her. He rolled her over, pinning her shoulders down with his knees and holding her arm with the scalpel in it at bay in case she did try to stab him. She felt his boner against her chest and could hear his heavy breathing. The awkward hotel clerk was turned on by everything that had been happening and it only served to make her want to stab him more. She wanted to stab him just like Ruth stabbed Alex, but she wouldn't be careful and deliberate about the placement of each wound.

"Novak, just do it," Alex said to her, sounding like her normal put together self and almost sounding like she had that arrogant fucking smirk on her face.

For speaking, Ruth dumped more vodka onto her leg. She didn't scream and only glowered at the woman, which Ruth didn't find satisfying at all, but didn't address.

"You ready?" Clark asked Casey, rubbing the crotch of his pants on her bleeding stomach.

She nodded and he let her up. She dragged herself over to Alex, her right arm throbbing from falling into the chair and the solid floor. She got up on her knees. Alex wasn't looking at her, she was still looking at the collection of blades.

Casey thought fast. She knew where the kidneys were, the liver, lungs, the obvious things. She clinched her teeth, took the scalpel and pressed it into the side of Alex's left breast. It was the only place she trusted herself not to accidentally kill Alex by doing and it was likely what Ruth had wanted. She had placed her left hand on Alex's waist and as she performed each subsequent stab she squeezed her side gently and caressed her with her thumb the best she could manage. Alex kept her lips tightly pursed and only let out a single faint whine. Casey kept going, as slowly as she could without being punished, and she kept going until Ruth told her to stop.

After she finished, Casey threw the scalpel down and quickly got to her feet. A tear eased its way down Alex's cheek. Casey turned to Ruth and Clark. She no longer cared that she was standing around in her bra, bleeding from the mess of shallow cuts on her chest and stomach. She asked, "Now what?"

"We'll let her go if you don't think she'll run away," Ruth answered her, looking pleased. She wore a closed-lipped smile and looked like a toad.

"What do you mean let her go? You don't mean..."

"No. I don't mean let her live. I just mean untie her," the woman laughed.

Casey didn't look back at Alex. Her eyes shifted to the door up the stairs. There were two men up there, but what was incapacitated and missing a finger. There was a sort of nerdy boy down here and an older woman. There was a tray of sharp shit. She asked Alex without turning, "Will you run away?"

"No."

Ruth looked very pleased indeed and clapped her hands together in front of her a few times, "You now get to watch as the Fornicator receives another taste of her own medicine."


	36. Chapter Thirty-Five

_**Note:**__ It's almost over, I promise. I hope I haven't traumatized anyone too terribly._

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

"Fucking idiots!" Stabler roared, a freakish mixture of rage and mirth at the same time, "But damn am I glad they're fucking idiots!"

Casey's phone had been on long enough for them to track it down and when Olivia called it, they localized it even further. It was within thirty feet of the address that the minivan was registered to, which was Clark the clerk's mother's house. Without Barbary, his minions got extremely careless. Ruth was drunk with the power she'd been given and his supposed vision resulted in the ones he chose to escape the arrests were not the best choices.

Elliot's knuckles were white and he was dressed in jeans and t-shirt. He was driving wildly and speeding through stop lights with his police beacon twirling on his dash. "If both of these women don't have all of their eyes and fingers when I get there, I will personally go into lock-up and shoot every single one of those motherfuckers!"

"Calm the hell down, El!" Olivia yelled at him.

There were two squad cars ahead of them and one behind along with a bus and Fin and Munch were somewhere. Fin decided to take some manner of shortcut to the location.

...

"Whore!" Ruth bellowed at Alex as she lay balled up on the cold floor. She was slinging blood this way and that was she tried to keep Clark off of her and keep her dress covering her.

Casey clinched her fists and Alex was muttering, "No, no, no."

Clark was laughing from on top of her, but he couldn't get her to get out of the fetal position. She was definitely scrappier than she looked and she was a good deal stronger than the slightly tubby boy and also a few inches taller, though about fifty pounds lighter.

Ruth shouted at Alex again, "You flirted with Raphael! You flirted with him while he was working and now you're not interested in him?! You open your legs for everyone else!"

"Wait," Casey said suddenly, "Can I do something to her?"

Ruth looked toward her curiously and Clark looked over his shoulder. Everything went silent except Alex, panting and squirming.

"I want...I want to...um...carve something into her..."

Ruth's eyes grew even wider than they already were and she motioned for her Clark to get off of Alex and said, "Don't you dare try to run, Alexandra Cabot."

"What the fuck, Casey?" She asked from the floor and Clark kicked her in the ribs instantly.

Ruth was next to the tray of knives and she picked them up from the table, bringing them over to Casey. Instead of taking one, Casey grabbed the metal tray and slung all of the medical instruments into the woman's face.

She let out a wail, causing Clark to turn and then Casey used the tray like a softball bat, smashing it into his face as hard as she could. He fell to the side and she raised the tray over her head and brought it down on his face a second time with a solid clunking noise and sound of his cracking nasal bone.

Ruth was suddenly covered with bleeding cuts and Alex skittered across the floor on her back, vanishing to the darkest part of the basement.

Casey quickly turned back to Ruth and held up the dented tray like a shield. Ruth had picked up the kitchen knife used earlier and her eyes had grown crazier than ever. Casey began backing away from her, wondering where the fuck the cavalry was and not knowing what she was going to back into.

Despite two hard blows to the head with the tray, Clark was not completely incoherent. He was coherent enough to reach out, grabbing onto Casey's ankle, tripping her. She dropped the tray and trying to break her fall, she twisted her other ankle and went down.

Ruth began to bellow for Elimelech and Gabriel when Alex re-emerged, stumbling on her heels and her now tattered dress barely keeping her covered, despite her taking the time to refasten the top. She snatched up what was left in the bottle of vodka and ignored the blood pouring down the inside of her leg and all down her side. She splashed a bit of the liquid into Ruth's eyes, breaking her focus. She started moving toward Casey and stopped only long enough to kick Clark harder in the scrotum than she'd ever kicked anything before in her life.

The hotel attendant had been pawing for Casey, but couldn't reach her because he couldn't get his eyes to look in the same direction after she hit him. Alex scrambled to get the other attorney to her feet. Casey almost took them both back down to the floor when she tried to put weight on her ankle. Alex quickly locked her arm around her and Casey tightened her grip around her shoulders.

"Police! Put the knife the fuck down!" Fin shouted from somewhere upstairs as the two women limped toward the stairs.

"Fin!" Casey screamed as loud as she could, somehow mustering whatever else she had left in her.

Alex looked back behind them when they reached the start of the stairs and saw Ruth coming up behind them. She was squinting, but wielding the knife still.

As Munch opened the door above them, Alex shoved Casey to the right of the stairs not heeding her injured ankle in the slightest and figuring being alive was ultimately more important. Alex ducked as the woman dove at them and at the same time, Munch commanded, "Put the knife down lady."

She sneered at him and went for Alex to her left. Alex slid across the concrete as Munch fired once and Ruth let out another animalistic scream and fell backward. Alex went on her hands and knees over to Casey who was laying in much the same place where she'd pushed her, but was sitting up on her elbows, looking completely exhausted. When Alex got to her she reached out desperately and hugged her tightly not caring about the mess of blood. She buried her face into Alex's neck and didn't care that she smelled like cheap vodka either.

"You ok?" Alex asked.

"Not dead," she gasped.

"Ok. I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass out now."

Casey started crying in near hysterics and supporting Alex's dead weight because after all she was generally a woman of her word and did pass out.

"Down here!" Munch called out, "We've got a live one and Alex and Casey!" Then he saw Clark, "Scratch that, two live ones, but both are incapacitated!"

Olivia and Elliot barreled down the stairs and flipped on all of the light switches that illuminated the whole room. She revealed what was obviously the main headquarters of the cult operations. There was a plethora of surgical and other medical equipment along with ropes, assorted straps, more tools and a drain in the center of the concrete floor for easy clean up of the blood.

Speaking of blood, it was also everywhere just from the foray that went down moments before. Ruth was alive, but barely. Munch had shot her in the chest, but not fatally. At least it wasn't fatal just yet. Clark was most definitely incapacitated and easily put into cuffs and dragged upstairs.

Elliot stopped in their tracks seeing the scene so suddenly that Olivia bumped into him. They had no idea what could have happened and wouldn't be finding out soon because Casey was in hysterics and Alex had fainted.

Olivia tried to calm her down, but to absolutely no avail.

When the paramedics came down, Elliot pointed them over to Alex and Casey and stood over Ruth, who was sputtering blood from her mouth by that time.

"Jesus Christ..." Olivia said once they pried Casey off of Alex and put the woman on a stretcher. She got a look at the revealing stabs and cuts on both of the women that matched those of the victims.

Olivia reached down and tried to touch Casey, but she started screaming and swatted her away then pulled her knees up to her chest. Elliot came over and knelt down next to her. He spoke bluntly to her and didn't try to calm her down at all. He said, "You need to go to the hospital now, Novak. If you don't go they're going to go ahead and take that crazy hag who had you down here."

It wasn't true exactly. A paramedic was stopping Ruth from bleeding out as he spoke.

"It was you guys' day off..." She said sniffling.

Elliot chuckled and said, "Come on. Hospital."

"I can't get up," she sobbed and reached down to roll up the leg of her pants. She also had a huge bruise forming on her shoulder and another was engulfing her elbow on the same side. The cuts were clotting, but they stung and the back of her head ached from Clark pulling her hair. She also felt skin flopping around on the inside of her cheek which was swollen. Both of her pals were bleeding, but nothing compared to her hugely swollen right ankle, which was already blackening.

"I'll carry you. Let's go. Gotta get you out of the crime scene," he said pleasantly.

Olivia let out a huge sigh of relief. Munch looked over the basement with his hands on his hips, bony elbows jutting out. He was shortly joined by his partner once Elliot had Casey upstairs.

"What the fuck?" Fin said, looking around.

Munch shrugged. "Did you see Cabot?"

"Yeah."

"Part of me is incredibly curious about what happened here and another part of me doesn't even want to know."

"I don't wanna be the one to take their statements..." Fin admitted.

"Somebody has to."

"And somebody has to talk to the damn press."

"The Captain can do it."

Fin grunted in agreement and Warner trudged down the stairs, "Why'd I get called? There's no bodies."

Munch shrugged his lanky shoulders again.

"There's a severed finger over there," Fin pointed. "It doesn't belong to anyone we know."

"Good God," she observed. "I got here as they were loading up Novak and I passed a paramedic saying someone had a ruptured scrotum. I assume they were not referred to either of the women we know."

Fin's face suddenly contorted and he paled. Munch patted him on the back and said, "Pretty sure our prosecutors put up a damn good fight."

"Look at this tray, man. That shit looks head shaped," Fin pointed at the tray that had held some of the scalpels.

"We should get out of the way so the CSUs can get in here," Warner told the men. "I should go back to my lab and probably get ready to run a million samples. Let me know about Alex and Casey, alright?" She shook her head in disbelief and they all went back upstairs.

...

Some liquid stitches patched up Casey's cuts and light bandages were put on her hands. She had a severe sprain and was given some Vicodin for everything else. She lay alone and semi-conscious in the hospital room for a while before Olivia came back and sat down in a chair next to her bed.

"Where's Alex?" She asked her. "Is she ok?"

"She has a concussion, a broken toe and she lost some blood," Olivia began. "She's been stapled up and she's down the hall."

Casey looked relieved and relaxed into the pillow then suddenly became annoyed by the paper gown she'd been put in and the tubes sticking out of her arms. "When do I get to go? I hate hospitals."

"I spoke to a nurse in the hall and she said tomorrow. They want to keep you overnight for observation."

"Get me the remote for the TV and tell me what dumbasses sent me flowers, so I can be mad at them as soon as I can get up."

Benson laughed and handed her the remote, "They're mostly from people in the DA's Office. We all have more sense than to send you flowers."

She grunted and asked, "When do you want to get my statement about the fucking shit that went down in that basement?"

"Whenever you're ready."

She grunted again and turned on the television.

"I went by your place and got you some clothes. I also took care of the parking tickets you accumulated today."

"I can't believe I got fucking...kidnapped," she said bitterly. "I'm going to have to go to some therapy, aren't I?"

"I let you get kidnapped and yes."

"Shut up, Liv. I got Alex kidnapped too."

"Again, she was on her way to have lunch with me when it happened."

"Shut up, Liv," she said again, but with less conviction, knowing it was futile. "Can I just talk to Huang about being tortured so I can go back to work?"

"I'll see what I can," Olivia told her.

Casey stopped her adamant channel surfing on a local news channel and read the headline at the bottom with a sneer, "Two Manhattan attorneys held captive for torturous afternoon."

"Maybe you shouldn't watch TV right now, Casey," Olivia suggested and then Elliot emerged in the door leading into her room as well.

"Hey, Elliot." She greeted him.

"How are you?"

"Not dead."

"This place is swarming with God damned reporters trying to talk to you."

"Tell them to shove it," she said.

"We're keeping them at bay and Cragen is giving his 'no comment' speech right now. He'll probably come see you if you're up for it after he's done."

She pointed to the TV, "I see his glistening bald head."

Elliot came in and sat down next to Olivia. They watched the Captains very brief appearance. Then Elliot observed, "Who the hell sent you all these flowers?"

"Dumbasses I work with."

"Vicodin usually makes people more pleasant..." Olivia pointed out with a smile.

Casey smiled back, "God, you guys, my career."

"Huh?" Elliot questioned.

"Because of Alex."

"What're you talking about?" He asked. Olivia remained quiet.

"I'm talking about everyone knowing now, and this isn't how I wanted any of those to be, and...and it's going to turn into a thing at the DA's Office. The defense is always going to be saying I have an agenda, and...and..."

Olivia elbowed Elliot in the ribs lightly, trying to get him to stop talking, but he was so confused he couldn't help himself, "Casey? What?"

She sounded exasperated, "Me and Alex. God, Stabler. Sometimes you're a fucking blockhead."

There was an pause in the banter and then he laughed loudly before composing himself, "Oh! Novak, listen to me. I don't care either way." He nodded to Olivia, "It doesn't mean any of us like you less and I'm pretty sure you're overreacting."

"I don't think you're actually helping, El," Olivia said to him.

"I really don't want to deal with any of this..." Casey grumbled. She felt herself about to slip into hysterics again. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe, but maybe she wasn't either.

"There's always the 'no comment' speech," he shrugged and put his big palms in the air, making the motion more exaggerated.

"What about Alex?" Casey asked.

"What about her?"

Olivia reached over and took Casey's hand. Casey didn't even bother to fight her off. She took a deep breath and said, "Let me tell you something about Alex. She's got some skeletons in her closet and she knows how to deal with them-"

"I don't want to be a skeleton, Olivia."

"You're not dead," Elliot butted in. He was trying to make jokes and even on good days Casey was sometimes not fond of jokes.

Olivia glared at him, "What I'm saying is to talk to Alex."

"But this happened to her because of me..." Casey said softly and sadly.


	37. Chapter Thirty-Six

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

Casey changed into the sweatpants and long-sleeved t-shirt Olivia had brought for her then got discharged and hobbled immediately back into the hospital on crutches. Because of her bruised arm and scraped up palms, using crutches hurt a bit more than it normally would have, but the doctors didn't see fit to load her up on more pain meds. They said some aspirin should do the trick once she got home. Problem was, she didn't intend to go home quite yet.

She hopped down the hallway where she had been and to Alex's room. She had been on crutches before and wasn't incompetent, but she winced noticeably when she shifted both crutches to one side and tried to open the door. Her entire body hurt and some parts hurt a little worse than others. A nurse took pity on her and opened it for her.

"Thanks," she said quietly and continued slowly over to the chair by Alex's bed. The room was dark and also filled with flowers and cards. Alex was asleep and didn't stir in the slightest. She was banged up with a busted lip, black eye and a mix of cuts and bruises, in one of those God awful gowns and also had tubes sticking out of her here and there. She wasn't nearly as swollen and awful looking as she had been, that was for sure. Casey quietly sat her crutches aside and stood on one leg until she managed to move the chair a bit closer to the bed and sit down.

She reached out to touch her arm, but hesitated and pulled back, decided to just keep her hands in her lap. She vaguely remembered rattling off some incoherent things to Elliot and Olivia. As she tried to remember them she ended up slouching down and dozing off in the chair. She was awoken by someone slapping her on the knee.

She jumped and Alex laughed weakly. The blonde woman was sitting up and said, "I woke up like ten minutes ago and got tired of waiting on you to wake up, sorry."

"It's ok," Casey sat up and rested her chin on her arms on the rail on the side of Alex's bed and frowned a bit.

Alex looked at her oddly for a moment. Head cocked to the side and the best smirk she could manage with her swollen lip, "Are you still on pain meds or did you fall in love with me because I went down on you one time?"

"What?" Casey asked, a little shocked by the line of questioning.

"You're looking at me all..." For once Alex couldn't seem to think of an appropriate word and she just tried to imitate the very unlike Novak look on Casey's face. Then she added, "You look sort of like you're going to start drooling and that you want to kiss me and sad...all a the same time."

"I'm not making anywhere near that stupid face and I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm tired and in pain and you're the one on pain meds and being ridiculous."

"Whatever you say, Novak." She sighed and changed the subject, lying back down. "I heard I ruptured Clark the clerk's balls and apparently broke my toe on his pelvic bone or something, so I get one of those clunky walking casts. I can't remember half the shit people have said to me who have come in here."

Casey smiled a little, "I'm sorry this happened and about what I did to you."

Shaking her head, Alex said, "You didn't do anything. Those crazy assholes did."

"I got you into all of it."

"I got me into all of it and don't try to fucking argue with me about it. I might be laying in a hospital bed and I might look like shit, but I can still present a great argument and I will if I have to. I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Everyone knows now..." She added reluctantly. "The letter they dropped at the precinct calling you the Fornicator leaked. People put it together."

"I don't care. Look at the sympathy points I'm going to get as soon as I get back to work. Plus media attention is media attention. Setting precedents, blah blah blah."

She smiled again remembering the time she was hoping for some jury sympathy after she was beaten up by her complaining witness' brother in her office. Then she added, "I really don't care for media attention, you know. I'm not in this job for constituents-"

"It will blow over. What I'm saying is that it doesn't really matter, Casey. We were held hostage and tortured in a basement by some religious whackjobs. Deflecting nosy media accusations about who we're dating is nothing. Not that many people really care who attorneys are seeing and soon they'll forget about the whole ordeal. I'm sure you've been laying in your hospital bed absolutely over-thinking everything, haven't you? You're worried about conflict of interest accusations, you're worried about-"

"I guess you're right." She stopped Alex from displaying her psychic prowess, but her huge list of fears was not actually assuaged.

"Of course I'm right. I'm Alex Novak."

"Fuck you."

"Not now, but do you want to see the stitches in my leg and the side of my boob?" She said jokingly, "I look like the Frankenstein monster."

Casey dropped one of her hands over the rail and took hold of Alex's fingers. Alex reciprocated. Casey pouted, "I guess I need to go to the station and give them my statement about what happened at some point."

"Me too."

There was a knock on the door. Casey sat up and released Alex's hand. A nurse walked in and said, "Ms. Cabot." Then she turned to Casey, "Weren't you discharged earlier?"

"I came back."

"Obviously. I'm pretty sure one of your friends, one of the detectives, just called and asked about you. They were told you were discharged and they may think that-"

"Jesus Christ. Did they not think to look here before they assume I've been kidnapped again?"

"I'll relay that message as soon as I change Ms. Cabot's IV bag."

Alex laughed and said to Casey, "They're letting me go tomorrow. They have to keep me another night to watch for brain swelling."

The nurse worked with Alex's right arm and Casey leaned forward onto the rail again and took her hand. Alex looked a little surprised and also tired, but the nurse didn't give them a second glance. When she left the room Alex asked, "Seriously though, do you wanna see my stitches?"

...

Fin helped Casey up to her apartment and she asked, "Who drove my car back?"

"Stabler," he answered.

"I'll have to thank him when I come in tomorrow for my statement, I guess."

"You want help with that?" Fin asked her as she fumbled with her keys to her apartment.

"No. Don't baby me, I just have a sprained ankle."

"You got more than a sprained ankle, woman."

She opened up the door and found that someone had also kindly brought all of her useless flowers from the hospital into her apartment. It made her place smell like a flower shop, which wasn't entirely unpleasant. She asked, "And who did this?"

"Stabler."

Casey moved fairly quickly on her crutches around her apartment, picking up this and that, dumping out the coffee she made the day before, but never got a chance to drink. Fin followed her, afraid she was going to fall down, but she didn't.

"You're being awfully quiet, Detective Tutuola," she said when she finally sat down on the couch. He had also been quiet on the drive from the hospital to her place. It was like he didn't know what to say to her although she was still the same old Casey Novak.

He stood with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and still didn't say anything. He just looked thoughtful.

"There's some beer in the fridge if you want it and a room temperature, flat beer right here that's been sitting out since Friday night," she moved her leg and bandaged foot up onto the coffee table and pointed to the beer from two nights before that she'd still forgotten to throw out.

He stood there, clearly having something to say, but not saying it.

"What is it, Fin?" She pried.

"You and Alex, huh?" He said finally.

"What about us?"

"Just didn't see it comin'."

"Neither did I, Fin."

"Munch won't shut up about it."

"Go get a beer and tell me all of the ridiculous things Mr. Munch has been saying," she patted the couch next to her.

He nodded and agreed. They talked for a while about Munch and his new favorite topic. Fin then said, "Off the record, Novak...what the fuck happened down there? I mean, I saw the aftermath...I just wanna know how you two got loose really because...I don't know. I don't think I actually wanna know, but..."

She paused and thought for a while about it, "I think we were lucky that they were all completely insane and incompetent. I guess...I tricked them. I finally saw an opportunity and I took it."

"I was an Army Ranger and I've just been thinkin' about what I woulda done. You don't have to tell me what you did down there. I know you're going to have to talk to Huang and he's trained in this stuff..."

She smiled faintly, "You're being so nosy, Fin." Sighing and looked down at her bandaged hands. She glossed over what happened, summarized it for him.

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?" He answered his own question, "Of course you're not. Fuck my being curious. I shouldn't have even asked. I saw all of the girls and I...I read the reports. Why'd I fuckin' ask?"

"It's really ok. Maybe I need to talk about it before I go in and try to talk about it officially. I sort of know how witnesses feel now and...it's weird being on the other side of the fence, you know? It's...shitty."

"Alex didn't mention anything. She's actin' like you two just had some sort of accident..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"You know Alex."

He nodded and said, "Woman's tough as nails."

"You have no idea." She paused for a moment and rubbed the side of her face she'd banged on Alex's knee when they first brought her to the basement. A small bruise had appeared across her cheekbone.

Fin chugged down his beer. "I thought I'd already met every kinda crazy..."

"Fucking insane," she said, shaking her head in disbelief herself. Thinking about it again made her feel faint. Then she said, "I like her, Fin. She's unbearable and self-righteous and then she's...I don't know. I like her...a lot." She said adamantly, finally sure of herself. "These people knew it and Ruth...I had to watch when she..."

He shook his head and said, "The shit we'll do to survive..."

"They would've killed her," she said. "I know it. If you had taken longer...I'm really afraid that they would've tried to make me do it."

"If one of 'em cut off his own damn finger just because he was told to...God damn. The control these nuts had over one another."

"Thinking about it just..." She looked at him sadly, "I don't know how she forgives me."

"Alex has good sense, Novak. I do know that."

Casey groaned and leaned her head back onto the couch cushion, "I haven't forgiven myself yet."

"You did what you had to do and you got balls. I probably woulda just gone out with my guns blazin' and not even bothered actually tryin' to stay alive...woulda just tried to take 'em down with me."

...

No sooner than Casey finished giving her gut wrenching statement, leaving everyone in the precinct with their mouths hanging open, Alex came in with Munch. She was sporting a cane and an unfashionable walking cast just like she said. She'd already gotten a new pair of glasses too. Hers were never found, but her new glasses were identical with the same black frames. Munch was glad to go pick her up at the hospital and glad to miss out on Casey's tale. He decided that he'd rather read about it in the final report.

"Why are you all looking at me? You saw me in the hospital. It isn't like you didn't know where I was or that I've been gone for two years." She said accusingly.

Huang opened the door so that Casey could get out of the interview room where they'd been sitting with Cragen for the last hour or so with everyone else hovering around and listening in.

"Alex," Casey said as soon as she saw her.

"Ah, this is why everyone is staring at me," she hung her head.

"I'm sorry," Casey apologized.

"Stop saying you're sorry for things that aren't worth being sorry about. You're better than that and I don't like it, Novak."

"And the Ice Queen is back," Munch said jovially.

No one else responded. Casey pursed her lips and continued moving toward her. She shuffled her crutches into one hand again then handed them off to Olivia who was closest. She grabbed Alex in an embrace not unlike the one just before she passed out in the basement. Alex pulled her close with one arm, while the other held her cane and kept her balance.

She whispered in Casey's ear, "Not so tight. Stitches, remember?"

Loosening her grip slightly she said, "I still have to talk to Huang about my feelings once a week for who knows how long."

"Poor you. Feelings are the worst."

Casey took a hopping step backwards and put her hands on either side of Alex's face. For a moment Alex thought she was going to kiss her right then and there. If that happened she would certainly fall down and that just wouldn't do. Her hair was a little more flat than usual, but she had put on make up to cover her still battered face the best she could, along with the childish hickey Casey had left. Casey didn't kiss her, she just looked at her, looked her over to make absolutely sure she was still alive and absolutely sure she wasn't angry.

Alex wasn't angry in the slightest. It was easy to tell when Alex was angry. Casey reached out without a word and Olivia handed her crutches back. She then hobbled toward the precinct coffee maker.

"So can I give my statement and get it over with too?" Alex asked.

Cragen cleared his throat and everyone else still stood around. Huang had his hands in his pockets and looked thoughtful. Cragen stepped toward her and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her too. Instead he said in a monotonous tone, "Cabot, can you give me fifteen minutes to process what Novak just told me before I hear it again?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, you're better than that." Casey said loudly and spitefully from the coffee maker then added angrily, "Can everyone stop staring at Alex and someone carry this cup of sludge for me so I can sit down somewhere?"


	38. Chapter Thirty-Seven

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

Casey took the following week off, not necessarily by choice, and she still micromanaged every case she although Hardwick had officially taken all of them on. She still checked her email constantly and was always checking in on the cases. Alex had to make what seemed like hundreds of phone calls to reschedule everything she had going on in DC. Cragen held a press conference about the incident and all of the networks were dying for interviews with the awkward Manhattan sex crimes ADA and the former ADA now working for the ICC. The whole shitstorm made national news and was definitely taking a while to blow over.

"I really hope people lose their tragedy boners over this soon," Alex grumbled lying on Casey's couch. She had taken her clunky walking cast off and elevated her heavily bandaged toe.

Casey, having been on crutches many times during her softball career and also having to walk with a cane once before was skillful at hopping and maneuvering with one foot. She ignored Alex's complaints and came over with new dressing for her stitches.

Without Casey having to say anything, Alex moved her legs so she could sit down and then laid them across her lap and said, "The only reason I'm letting you play nurse is because you're letting me stay here."

"You like the attention, don't lie." Casey said and carefully slid down Alex's pants. She'd bothered to wear underwear having rather sore incisions covering her thigh. Casey exposed the large bandage and began removing the medical tape.

Though complaining, Alex did secretly enjoy not having to do it herself. It was a rare event for her to be able to justify having someone take care of her. She also hated looking at the marks though she joked around them often. "When I come back next weekend, I don't expect you to still do this and I won't let you."

"I'm sorry that our relationship has devolved into me keeping your wounds clean."

"I'll be glad when it turns back into you fucking me instead, Novak."

Casey shot her a glare as she taped on new dressing and then said, "Leg's done. Let's get your boob before everyone gets here."

Alex pulled up her own pants trying not to laugh and then she lifted her t-shirt and rolled over somewhat onto her side. Before addressing the small area covered by a bandage, Casey ran her hand over Alex's abs and stroked the underside of her breast with her thumb. Alex sighed and closed her eyes then Casey ripped off the tape and piece of gauze.

"You're shitty at foreplay," said Alex.

"Everyone's coming over for dinner and they'll be here soon."

"Speaking of which I should probably put on a bra. No need to give anyone a Frankentit show."

"I have no idea why I was so intimidated by you."

"Because I'm unbelievably smart and beautiful and I win all of my court cases with my intense passion for law and justice."

"Modest also." She followed it with, "There you go. Nothing looks infected."

Alex sat up. She spent a few minutes fixing her hair then put on her cast to move around. Casey made her keep her bags in the office and her toiletries and makeup in the guest bathroom, so not to give the appearance that Alex lived there. Alex was, in fact, looking into apartments in DC because she'd be there for three quarters of her work. After what happened with Clark couldn't bear to stay at the same hotel, despite generous discounts offered by the owner. Casey had very promptly offered up her own apartment while Alex was in New York.

While Alex fixed herself up the best she could manage in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt, Casey straightened up and pulled a bunch of champagne flutes from the cabinet. She also removed a bottle of champagne from the refrigerator, which she sat on the counter.

When she started pulling down plates, Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Casey, come back over here and make someone else do that when they get here, please. Make Olivia do it. You know she really, really wants to do everything for both of us."

Casey groaned and limped back over to the couch where she sat down grumpily. Alex put her arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "I never said thank you."

"For what?"

"I'm pretty sure you saved my life."

"Alex," Casey said, sounding annoyed, and then said nothing else.

She took her face and turned it toward her own then pressed their foreheads together, "Just say 'you're welcome' and I won't bring it up again."

"You're welcome," she spoke and her voice was barely audible.

Alex kissed her then, as passionately as she could muster with her still bruised lip. Casey was still overly gentle, even more afraid of hurting her than before. Her fears were more legitimate this time and any wrong movement in the vicinity of her leg or chest sent stinging pain all over her body. The pain wasn't even remotely erotic and it made them both think of what happened in the basement.

At the time though they kissed and everything was fine. Casey pulled away first and nestled her face into Alex's neck. She began planting tiny kisses on her shoulder and Alex just held her in a delicate embrace. They were eventually interrupted by Olivia wanting to be buzzed in and wanting to set everything up for everyone else.

...

"I can't believe Cabot went back to work so soon after what happened..." Casey listened to people talk in the elevator. They thought she couldn't hear them as if sound travelled differently in the little human transporting box.

"I know," someone else said. "I'd have needed a month vacation at least and a new therapist."

Maybe they didn't see her. It was after lunch and the elevator was crowded, she was in the back corner, making no point to draw attention to herself. There was also a chance that they wanted her to say something. Everyone was so curious and not everyone had tact. Too bad she had no interest in talking about it at all. She talked about it as much as she needed to with Huang who told her she was handling everything very well.

Casey's secretary flagged her down as she was going down the hall and said, "Donnelly wants to see you."

No one made her quite so nervous as Liz. She headed back to the elevator and to Donnelly's office. When she got there she peaked her head around the corner to see the judge looking at some paperwork with her normal dour expression. She knocked with one knuckle on her the door.

Donnelly looked up and said, "Come in, Casey. Shut the door behind you."

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Have a seat," Liz said as Casey sat down. "Are you sure you're alright to be back at work?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Dr. Huang said I can work."

"You and Cabot," she said blandly. "God forbid either of you takes some time off. You both have awful traumatic experiences and both of you go right back to work. Is that your way of coping?"

"Are you telling me to take time off?"

"I'm telling you to use your vacation days this year. I can't tell Cabot anything because she doesn't work for me anymore, but watching you two is going to make me have a nervous breakdown. I'm telling you this for my benefit really. I am well aware that you could have had more than a week off, but you insisted upon the minimum. If you had waited to come back you wouldn't have to dodge reporters or dead with the other schmucks in the hall."

"I had a three-year vacation-"

"Don't give me that crap. Alex told me you closed yourself in your apartment, refused to talk to anyone, read books and binged on TV dramas. Last week you managed to delegate your case load and did anything awful happen? No. Nothing happened except that you got a week off. I know you and I'm sure you sat on you nitpicking poor Hardwicke about everything you could, but that was a start. I had your job for ten years, remember? I took my vacations and I daresay I didn't have near the awful experiences that you have."

Casey kept her mouth shut. Donnelly was on some sort of warpath, asking and answering her own questions.

"I like you, Casey. I've always liked you. Your dedication is admirable and you care about people. I like Alex too, although I think she's obsessive, over-confident and her skirts her too short. I have no idea what bizarre series of events occurred to result in you two finding one another, and I still cannot for the life of me wrap my mind around it, but both of you need to take a vacation. I'm aware that Alex has press conferences and a million meetings. Do you not think she is entitled to a vacation? Of course you agree with me."

Looking at her blankly was all that Casey could manage.

"Both of you are remarkably resilient and my God are you both stubborn. You're very good at what you do. Once you can both walk properly again, you should take a vacation."

"So you're telling me to take a vacation and with Alex?"

"What does it sound like I'm trying to tell you?"

"Are you punishing me?"

"No, I'm trying to stop you and Cabot from working yourselves to death. I'm telling you this as your friend. Think of it as me imparting my sage knowledge for free upon you."

"Thank you?"

Liz glared at her, "Your constant befuddlement when interacting people confuses me. Is it contagious? Again, I have no idea how you and Cabot happened. I don't want to know either, so don't even think about telling me. I have no interest in prying into the personal lives of my underlings. I don't believe your relationship will have any bearing on your ability to try cases. You won't let it. If you let it, I will be right on your ass."

"Maybe you need a vacation too, Liz?"

"Go back to your office, Novak. Don't work yourself to death."

"Are you mad because there's always reporters waiting outside of the office to talk to me?"

"Who said I was mad? I have remained perfectly calm. I'm simply concerned for your health."

"Huang said-"

"I do not care what that little man has said. I'm sure you've bullied him into saying everything."

"Bullied? Liz, I think you're bullying me-"

"Stop talking. You can't bully someone into taking a vacation. I can't make you take time off. I'm sure McCoy doesn't want you to take time off. Now get back to work."

It took a moment for Casey to collect her cane and get out of the chair opposite Judge Donnelly. Before she'd gotten out of her office though she turned back and asked, "So you were you telling me to take a vacation with Alex, right?"

"I hope you're joking." She looked back down at the papers on her desk and said nothing else.

Casey trudged confusedly back to her office and to her great dismay had a run in with McCoy. Donnelly summoned him by mentioning his name in the moments before, conjuring him into existence in Casey's path. He was being disgustingly pleasant to her. She didn't like it. It turned out that she didn't much care for sympathy at all and hated being coddled, although she kept finding herself coddling Alex.

"How are you today, Novak?" He asked.

"I'm doing fine, Jack," she answered.

"Speaking with Judge Donnelly, I see."

"Yes, sir. She was imparting great wisdom."

He looked at her suspiciously for a moment and then said, "Good. Good."

"I need to get back to work, sir. I have an arraignment in a few hours."

With a nod, he permitted her to go on her way and didn't tie her up in the hall like he had a tendency to do with his obnoxious chit-chat about nothing.

When Casey got back to her office she pulled the file for her arraignment and then looked up florists in DC near the building where she knew Alex's actual office was. She rapped her fingers on her desk and then put the end of the pen Alex got her into her mouth. Alex had been ridiculously busy and they'd barely been able to talk for more than a few minutes on the phone in the evening. Casey felt like she was being a little cheesy and cliche, but she picked up her cellphone and dialed the florist. Alex hadn't even sent her any baked goods and it crossed her mind more than once that Alex had changed her mind about her.

She still made the call, regardless. She was making a valiant attempt to Google the best flowers to send someone when the florist picked up. She said she needed some flowers delivered to an address as soon as possible, but had no idea what to send.

The flamboyant man on the other end of the line laughed pleasantly.

"I don't want roses," she said adamantly. "How about something blue?"

"Delphiniums?"

"Hang on. Hang on. Let me Google it," she said and cradled the phone with her shoulder so that she could type.

"Brilliant. God, I'm such a hack. How does this even work? I've never sent anyone flowers before."

He laughed again, "How much do you want to spend, ma'am?"

"How much do people normally spend?"

"Depends. What are they for?"

"Uh...I miss my...uh, friend." She entered panic-mode, "Just do like fifty dollars and put them in a nice vase. Make them look nice. Do you have, like, purplish ones too?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Ok, throw in some purple ones and it better look nice."

"I can do that."

She could tell that he was smiling and she didn't know if it was amusing or annoying. She paid over the phone and then felt stupid afterward. He probably recognized her name or Alex's name or both. Casey, becoming increasingly flustered, opted not even to include a message.

Casey refocused and worked for the next hour then went to her arraignment. Afterward she packed her things and went home. Alex usually called around six, but the call never came, which make Casey feel even dumber for the flowers. She thought she'd for sure call after receiving an unnecessary floral arrangement. She fought off the paranoid thought that something terrible had happened to her, which came next.

She couldn't remember whether or not Alex perhaps had an evening event. It was very possible. She milled around for a few more hours then called her and left a message.

"Hi, it's Casey," she said and then corrected, "You have caller ID, so you know that. I had a weird talk with Donnelly today. Um...call me if you get a chance. If not, goodnight and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

This was the first night that she hadn't heard from Alex at all. The assorted feelings she experienced as a result were not pleasant and not conducive to her sleeping well. She stayed up obscenely late watching infomercials, reminding herself over and over how busy Alex was. She was also busy. She understood these things, but still couldn't quite let it go. She woke up exhausted the next day.

Shortly after she got in to her office and sat down she got a call from down at the desk. Pete said, "Package for you, Casey. Two actually. They're not bombs. It's biscotti again and donuts. Oh, and some fancy coffee, which I hope isn't poisoned."

"Can you sent it all up, Pete? I've only got one good leg, remember?"

"Yeah. I just saw your secretary skulk by. I'll chase her down," and he hung up. She couldn't imagine Pete chasing anyone.

Casey caught herself grinning and put her elbow on her desk and covered her mouth.

The young girl brought in two boxes and a cup of coffee balancing them precariously. Casey got up and hopped over, grabbing the coffee first then the boxes. She snagged the card attached to the smaller box and opened it. It was again neatly typed and it said: _Didn't call last night, figured you were asleep by the time I got in. Paid extra for the delivery guy to pick up coffee. It better be hot or else. Share the donuts. Call you tonight, see you tomorrow. _

There there was: _p.s. Too many flowers._

Casey smiled and opened both boxes then said, "Donut or biscotti?"

"Both?"

"Sure."

"It's weird when you're nice," the girl said, grabbing her items and then retreating quickly.

Casey was fairly sure she was always nice. She just didn't fraternize with her secretary. The assortment of donuts were warm as was the biscotti and the coffee was hot. Casey wondered how much Alex was paying these people at this bakery for her increasingly special requests. She realized she didn't really care and then grabbed a cinnamon donut and held it in her mouth as she turned on her computer monitor. She'd make her way over to the precinct later and take the extra donuts.


	39. Chapter Thirty-Eight

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

"Keep the meter running, I'll only be inside for a few minutes," Alex told the cab driver who had pulled up outside of the DA's Office. She didn't have quite her normal presence as she came in with the walking cast on and an unimpressive flat shoe on the other foot. She otherwise wore a charcoal gray power suit and her hair looked amazing, despite having just gotten off of a plane. A couple people greeted her and she flashed them smiles and waves, but it was obvious that she was on a mission.

Pete gave her a hearty wave when she came in and said, "Alex! Casey left you something just a few minutes ago. She said Benson or someone needed a warrant so she had to step out."

She went over and took the envelope from him. Casey's apartment key was tucked inside along with a messily scribbled note telling her not to leave or else she wouldn't have any way to get into her own apartment at the end of the day and this would make her extremely displeased.

"Thanks, Pete. Can't talk. Grumpy cab driver has all of my stuff in his car with the meter running." She limped back out and down the steps. When she climbed back into the backseat she said to the little man in the front, "That was less than a minute."

The original plan for the dinner that evening had not involved Alex flying back only a few hours before it started. "Carry my bags up for me and I'll give you forty dollars," she attempted to bribe the man when she got to Casey's. He sighed loudly and annoyed then she said, "Fifty. This is on top of the fare and the tip, so don't be an ass. I have a broken toe and two huge suitcases."

Once everything was settled with the angry, little man, Alex went about trying to get ready. She needed to shower, do her hair, iron a dress, completely coordinate her make-up with said dress and figure out what shoe she could get away with wearing.

At around quarter after five she buzzed Casey in and then returned to Casey's bathroom to finish covering up the bruises on her face. The vanity and lighting in the other bathroom were not sufficient. She heard Casey scuff her way into her office and put down her things. She heard her briefcase clunk beside her desk and heard her shuffling some papers around. She was taking her sweet time coming in to see her.

Alex was leaning over the counter with her face up close to the mirror trying to properly blend the tone around her black eye when Casey finally emerged. She propped her cane onto the counter next to her and slipped her arms around her waist.

Casey kissed her between her shoulder blades then put her chin on her shoulder and looked at her in the mirror as she stood there in her undergarments. Alex put her make up down, leaned her head onto Casey's and took her hands. She asked, "Did you miss me?"

"Only a little. Did you miss me?"

With a quick smile, Alex twisted around so that she was facing Casey. She draped her arms over her shoulders and then said, "Not much."

Casey pressed their bodies closer together and pushed Alex against the vanity. Her nearly naked body was tense and warm, even through Casey's dress pants and blouse. "I think you missed me a little more than that."

"No," Alex responded, but with a wide smile. A moment later she pulled Casey in for a kiss by the collar of her shirt.

Casey was careful not to be rough with Alex where her stitches were and she also avoided the mark down the middle of her chest. She touched her though with more fervor than she had the week before when they both seemed somehow more fragile. She felt Alex's thin waist, her tight stomach and then she reached behind her and playfully cupped her ass. Alex let out a throat laugh and kissed Casey more aggressive. She caught her bottom lip in her mouth and bit down. Moaning softly, Casey slipped her hand around to graze Alex's front. She pressed her hand into Alex's slight mound over her panties and Alex nearly crumbled from the simple contact.

Alex only maintained her footing because Casey had her pressed to the counter and was working to hold her up.

"Didn't miss me, huh?" Casey whispered and began to massage her between her legs, feeling her get more and more wet through the thin cloth.

"You're being really...pushy...right now..." Alex's voice came out as more of a whine as she felt her knees growing weaker. "What...are you doing? If you fuck me now I won't want to go to this thing...and it's...it's for work."

Casey said nothing and shifted Alex's panties slightly aside to run one of her finger across her, teasing.

"God, are you drunk?" Alex gasped. "You can't...you can't not fuck me after this..."

Finally, Casey said something. She'd just been smiling and nibbling Alex's ear the entire time, "Alex Cabot, you're being awfully indecisive."

"Oh, my God. You've lost your mind-" Her voice caught in her throat as Casey dropped her hand down into her underwear and pressed two fingers inside of her. She wrapped her arms tightly around Casey's neck and brought her mouth back for a kiss.

Very carefully, Casey ran her hand down Alex's stitched thigh, which also housed her broken toe at the end of her foot. She lifted Alex's leg and wrapped it around her as she curled her fingers inside of her. She thrusted against her, jamming her into the edge of the counter and Alex didn't care. She was panting and finally broke the intense kiss she'd entangled Casey in.

"Casey," she managed to gasp, but no more words would come out of her mouth, not that she had anything coherent to say. She didn't claw at her back this time and instead just held her close, as close as she could. When she felt Casey add a third finger and then curl them all inside of her she managed to muttered, "Harder, please."

Casey wasn't one to always follow instructions, but she listened to Alex. She turned her wrist slightly plunged her fingers into her until her knuckles stopped her and she heard Alex cry out. Alex muffled the noise by putting her face into her neck. She held her tightly and Casey made the same motion again then curled her fingers just slightly. Alex pulled their lower bodies closer together with her leg and Casey pushed her harder into the vanity, pushing her fingers into her.

Without warning Alex loosened her grip and used her arms to lift herself onto the counter. She shoved a few things aside and into the sink she ended up sitting next to. She almost frantically removed her underwear and grabbed the front of Casey's shirt to pull her close again.

Casey didn't miss a beat and locked her in another intense kiss as she plunged her fingers in and out of her while she sat on the edge of her bathroom counter. Alex ended up wrapping both of her legs around her grinding as hard as she could onto Casey's hand. She came a few moments later and she came hard. She threw her head back and fumbled around for something to hold onto, knocking more items into the sink. She ended up grabbing Casey's collar as her spasms came to an end. Casey laughed and said in her ear, "Return the favor later. We need to get ready to go."

Alex sat on the counter just holding her in her arms and breathing heavily for some time. Her legs felt like jelly and dangled uselessly toward the floor on either side of Casey, whose arms were loosely around her waist.

"Casey..." Alex said, her voice shaking. She said nothing afterward.

In response, Casey just laughed slightly, hugged her close and kissed her on the cheek.

At last, Alex composed herself and released her grip. She cleared her throat and said, "What are you wearing?"

"I don't know. What are you wearing?"

"The dress I hung in your closet. By the way I like that everything hanging in your closet is arranged by length."

"Let me go look," she pulled away, looking at Alex's exposed body and smiling. She quickly ran her hands under the faucet and then yanked the hand towel from the ring. She used the wall for support and hopped back into the bedroom, feeling her ankle throbbing from inadvertently putting weight on it during the encounter and not realizing it.

Alex jumped down from the vanity with a huge sigh, "Jesus, I need to fix my hair again and I need new underwear."

"Just don't wear any," Casey said from her closet.

"I don't want to tempt you, Novak. You're clearly completely out of control."

"I missed you," she said as if it would justify her actions and as if her actions needed justification.

"God damn. I'll be sure to make you miss me more."

This elicited a hearty laugh from Casey, who was still rummaging through her clothes.

"How's your back?" Alex asked then, trying to touch up her make-up.

"Not ok for a backless dress. I have no idea what to wear to this thing. What time do we need to leave?"

"Starts at seven and it's ok if we're fashionably late, so quarter to seven would be fine. We can make it." She'd pulled one of her bags into Casey's bathroom and yanked another pair of underwear out and put them on.

Casey looked through her closet being mindful of Alex's dress, which was a dark blue, form-fitting thing, knee-length, long-sleeved, high collar and with an oval cutout to surely show her cleavage and the healing cut down her chest. Casey had nothing like that. She had some cute dresses, but none of this fashionable shit.

Alex poked her head out of the bathroom and said, "You don't have to go."

"Do you not want me to go?" Casey asked, still going through her huge closet of things that she bought and never wore.

"I do very much want you to go. Who else will shield me with awkwardness?"

"I'm not that awkward," she snapped.

"You just have no idea what to do with your hands."

"That not what you said-"

"I walked into that one." She cut her off then said, "Just be yourself." She motioned her over.

"Everything is just so ridiculous with us both crippled and-"

"Ridiculous is how much taller you are when I can't wear heels. You've got at least four inches on me." She grabbed onto the collar of Casey's shirt and pulled her in for a kiss then began undoing the buttons leading down her front. She paused the kisses momentarily, but continued working the buttons and said, "I got a pair of tiny one-inch heels that I think will go with my dress. I hope you're wearing flats."

"I thought you said you'd return the favor later." Casey was more focused on her shirt, but did nothing to stop her.

Alex shrugged and looked down at Casey's cuts that were nearly healed. They were just little pink marks like cat scratches. When she ran her thumb across one on her stomach she pulled away. Alex pulled her back, "Hey. You're not going anywhere."

"I-"

"Just kiss me again so I can fix myself up and get dressed," Alex moved her hands to Casey's neck and kissed her again.

Casey was moving with the same caution and unsureness that she displayed most of the time and Alex didn't mind a return to her more cautious handling. She liked that the other woman still tensed when she touched her. Casey in the bathroom was not the shy Casey with exposed cuts on her torso standing with Alex now. It was as if she were now on the verge of completely freaking out and fleeing. This made Alex laugh. She liked both versions of Casey Novak very much.

She kissed her once more and said, "Let me find you something to wear. I'm pretty sure I saw several perfectly appropriate dresses for tonight in there."


	40. Chapter Thirty-Nine

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

A few seconds later Casey was standing behind Alex with her arms crossed, "Can't I just put on a nice skirt and top?"

"You're not going to a trial. This is a black tie party."

"Why are we going to this at all and why are you walking around with out your cast on?"

Alex laughed, "I'm not putting any pressure on my toe and I'm going to this because international law is a lot of bullshit politics and I have a pretty face that people like. International law is partially trying the most awful cases and partially kissing ass like when I was Bureau Chief. You're going because I like you and I enjoy your company. We can drink champagne and scowl at people when they aren't looking."

"Who all is going to be there?"

"These things are usually overrun with hopeful politicians. McCoy will probably be lurking, but he tends to have his head up the mayor's ass. Steele and some of his posse, senators, rich as shit philanthropists, some celebrities." She shrugged.

"Are you even allowed to bring me? I'm just a sex crimes ADA."

"Yes," she said flatly and pulled out a dress on a hanger.

"What is this? Who is throwing this?"

"Some rich person. It's a benefit for...something."

"You don't even know? How'd you get invited?"

"I told you, people like me. I may be over-confident and I sometimes seem like a robot, but people like me," she shrugged again and returned the dress she had pulled out. "We'll figure out what it's for when we get there. I feel like it's to raise money for an anti-bullying campaign, but that might be a thing I have at the end of the week."

"Jesus, Alex. Are you sure you're not a politician?"

She whirled around, yanking another dress from the closet. She stuck out her bottom lip and looked from Casey to the dress and back. "It's good to care about other peoples' causes because you want them to care about yours."

"Do you care though or are you just there for your own agenda?" Casey reached out and took the dress. She didn't even remember buying it. It was fuchsia. "This is really flashy..."

"You're making me feel guilty, which isn't my favorite feeling."

"I'm Catholic, remember?"

"You're not a practicing Catholic. Put that on."

"It's really low cut. People will be able to see..." Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her chest. Her eyes narrowed when she looked up at Alex, "Are you taking me as a sympathy prop?"

"No! I asked you to go with me before." Alex exaggerated how appalled she was by the accusation. She was actually extremely entertained at the moment.

Casey groaned in an equally overdramatized fashion and said, "You're coming to the next department softball game. You will clear your schedule and you will come watch us lose to white collar."

"Deal. If you get me one of those 'sex crimes' shirts. Now put that on," she said and pulled out her own dress.

"Get your stuff out of my bathroom. Don't act like you live here. You're visiting," Casey reminded her and Alex only laughed.

...

The pair arrived at the Union Square Ballroom in a sleek black Cadillac that Alex had rented as a business expense, driver and all. Casey responded to this with a dejected shake of her head and said, "You are totally a politician and this morally questionable."

"I'm just stepping on some shoulders to get things done."

"The ends justify the means?"

"In this situation, yes."

Despite pulling up at nearly 7:30 a ton of other guests were as well. There were a few reporters and lots of photographers crowding the street outside near the coffee shop. Alex stepped out of the car first and immediately turned into the poised and serious woman that everyone else in the city was familiar with. She wore and thigh-length white coat with her dress and single shoe. Even wearing the less than elegant cast on one foot, she still looked amazingly elegant. She extend her right hand to Casey in the cool evening breeze amid the camera flashes.

Casey took Alex's hand and got out of the car wearing the dress Alex had picked. It came to just above her knees and had three-quarter sleeves. The neckline dipped low showing the first incision that was made in the middle of her chest. The collar had some slightly ruffling embellishments and Alex had insisted upon a showy necklace and some earrings.

Once they were both out of the car, Alex placed her hand on the small of Casey's back and leaned over saying with a smile, "Look excited to be here."

For a moment, Casey felt like some sort of celebrity between the camera flashes and the man yelling at them asking if they had a moment to talk before they went inside. Alex smiled in his direction, but otherwise ignored him and they made their way down to the underground ballroom. The hand-shaking and greetings began instantly after they checked their jackets. Alex guided her through the people in their suits and ties, vests, and fancy dresses. She kept her hand protectively on her back most of the time, sometimes a light touch on her arm or hand, subtly directly her somewhere else. She certainly was a prop.

Alex got them two glasses of whisky and was impressed by Casey's ability to hold the drink, keep a hold on her cane and also shake hands. They were both glad that no one was broaching the subject of their captivity. A lot of people knew Casey, or at least knew of her, and she pretended to care about their insipid chatter. People she didn't know asked her how she was doing.

Casey felt Alex pinch the back of her arm lightly then the woman whispered, "Incoming: man I slept with."

She looked around and saw Steele very slowly weaving his way toward them. She whispered back, "How many people are here that you slept with? Just curious."

"I've seen three, but Robert might be here."

"Your fiancé? You didn't remotely end on good terms with him. You're killing me, Alex."

"Focus. Steele." Alex turned and finished her drink, leaving only ice and then turned back to greet the Deputy District Attorney.

"Alex, Casey," he said to them cheerfully and went in for a hug from Alex. He kissed her cheek.

Casey couldn't help but notice that he barely moved his mouth when he talked since Alex had mentioned it. She couldn't even hear what he was saying because she couldn't stop staring at his mouth. All she knew was that he was only interested in talking to Alex, which was fine with her.

"It's on record, you could read it if you really wanted to," Alex said to him about something. "I've heard it's pretty enthralling."

"It was a good publicity decision for you two to come together," he pointed to either woman with the hand he was using to hold his wine glass. His other hand was in his pocket. Casey imagined him playing with his dick through his pocket like a good old fashioned perv, which really helped her to maintain a pleasant smile. "People can't stop talking about it at work."

Casey nodded, not listening to him at all and Alex's smile vanished before she said, "It's not for publicity, Jim."

He was mid-sip and nearly choked, "Oh."

By this time, Casey was looking past him, propped up on her cane and sipping her drink. She was hoping to catch sight of a celebrity she knew, maybe a big news anchor. She was snapped out of it by Alex's hand on her back again and her saying, "Right, Casey?"

"Yes," she answered, not sure what she was agreeing with. She did note that Jim was looking a bit red and flustered. He had averted his eyes downward. Casey assumed Alex said something catty.

He cleared his throat and then looked up at Casey, but not all the way up. His eyes stopped on the mark on her chest.

"Quit staring at my tits, Jim," she said in all seriousness.

When he looked up she was smiling slightly, but trying to convey offense. Alex never told her about his comments about her when they'd gone out after the gala in the weeks before.

Alex laughed loudly and said, "Jesus, Jim. Who are you seeing these days anyway? Anyone? I heard you and Rossi called it quits. I never liked her much."

Steele cleared his throat again and said, "No, no one, but I did bring a date. She's..." He looked around desperately, "I don't know where she went. Do you ladies need drinks? I'll take your glasses too."

"You're a good friend, Jim," Alex said, being completely patronizing.

When he started back toward the bar, Alex slipped her hand into Casey's briefly.

Before Jim came back with glasses of wine for both of them when there was a lull in the banter, Casey leaned over and said, "I feel like I should have gotten some sort of cane with a golden lion head on top or, like, a crystal ball."

Alex laughed and then composed herself again, "Stop. We've traumatized Jim Steele, don't put additional ridiculous thoughts in my head. I'm going to look like a giggling lunatic. Although that surely would have increased the power of your awkward shield."

"All I could think about was how he's an amateur ventriloquist. Thanks for that, by the way."

"How the hell do you say these things and keep a straight face?"

"Because I am serious." Casey did her best to imitate the arrogant Alex Cabot smirk.

Alex was about to say something else, but closed her mouth and accepted her drink from Jim instead, releasing her grip on Casey's hand.


	41. Chapter Forty

**Chapter Forty**

At the end of the night, Alex and Casey stood on the sidewalk just outside of the glass doors that read "Ballroom." They had decided to call it quits early because walking around and standing when there were a million places to sit was hurting Alex's stitches. She stubbornly refused to be one of the people sitting at the shindig, so she schmoozed with everyone she needed to and they headed out.

"Did you have fun? At least a little fun?" She asked Casey while they waited for her car and driver, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets.

"I did, once I got here. The fanciest thing I normally go to are the office holiday parties, so this was a bit different."

"Everyone was nice."

"Only because of what happened."

"No. People like me."

"I don't like you," Casey retorted and rolled her eyes in jest. "Where's your car? Now that I'm thinking about it I really want to put my foot up and I think this damn cane is giving me a blister on my hand."

"I definitely want to take this cast off," Alex agreed. "And this dress and...your dress."

"Liz told me the other day that I need to take a vacation."

"You do."

"She said you need a vacation too."

Alex scoffed, "Crime doesn't take a vacation. Especially not the violation of women in war zones."

"I wish I'd thought to say that to her."

"She would've given you that lazy eye look she does. I always think her brain is about to explode," Alex sighed absently and pulled her hands from her pockets and put them on Casey's shoulders. She pulled up the collar of her jacket then laughed softly.

Before being able to protest, Alex kissed her lightly on the mouth in the glowing artificial light on the sidewalk. Casey froze with one hand on her cane and the other in her own pocket. The kiss was fast and polite. They weren't pawing and trying to rip each other's clothes off. The car pulled up after only a brief moment and Alex took Casey's free hand and they walked to the curb.

Alex opened the door and said, "Once your ankle is better, don't expect me to open doors for you."

"You don't have to now," she retorted as she got into the car and slid across the backseat.

"What would people think if I didn't hold the door for my injured girlfriend?"

Casey's voice snagged in her throat and she became silent.

"Novak, stop acting like a child. I'm not seeing anyone else, you're not seeing anyone else, some crazy religious nuts wanted to kill me because we went out a few times, I send you biscotti, you send me flowers, so I'm pretty sure we're together," she said as she closed the door.

"You're reaching."

She shrugged, "Sustained."

"I didn't object...per se, so don't start that manipulative pouting. Sometimes I think you're an awful person, but-"

"You have a way with words." Alex didn't pout, but she did look straight ahead and put on her seatbelt.

"In your argument," Casey started, "You overlooked the fact that you actually like me. I mean, unless you don't."

She groaned, "I hate talking about these things. I hope my saying that would just settle it and get it out of the way."

"How did you end up engaged? That requires some talking."

"I have no idea."

"Are you sure you were engaged?"

Alex looked at her out of the corner of her eye, "Yes."

"Did I hurt your feelings?"

"What feelings? I'm Alex Cabot. I only have one feeling: law."

"Law isn't a feeling." Casey put her arm around Alex's shoulders.

"It depends on your definition of law."

"Law is a noun, not an adjective, in my dictionary."

She laughed, "Alright, you got me there."

"About that vacation I need to take before Liz fires me, where do you wanna go?" She purred and nibbled her earlobe then began playing with her earring with her tongue.

Alex ignored it and said, "You know I can't take a vacation."

"It doesn't have to be next week." She kissed her neck. "Plus we're getting subpoenas soon to testify against some of the crazies."

"Now you want to make advanced future plans with me and I don't know how I feel about that commitment." Alex's arms were crossed.

"You called me your girlfriend," she reminded her and started to run her other hand up Alex's dress.

Alex stopped her with a throaty laugh, "Quit. You are so frisky today. We're important professional women not high school children, but about that vacation that Liz bullied you into..."

"Want to just go to Atlantic City?"

"No, let's go skiing."

"Skiing?" Casey was not convinced.

"Then you can wear all those nice sweaters you have."

"Are we picking somewhere to go based on what we want to wear?"

"I don't know any other way to figure out a vacation destination, but how about you let me check my schedule, make some calls and talk to my supervisor?"

"Really considering a vacation?"

"Are you?"

"I don't know."

"My therapist in DC says I maybe need to take a step back and stop using my job as a crutch for avoidant behavior or something."

Back at Casey's, Alex took off her cast, tossed it aside and then went limping into the dark room for one of her suitcases.

"Don't take that off if you're going to walk around. If I accidentally step on your toe with my giant feet or if you run into something, you're going to regret it."

Alex ignored her, "Did you know that even after I can take this off forever I still can't wear pointed toed shoes for another two weeks? I'm stuck wearing God damn pilgrim shoes."

Casey was in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine and only laughed.

"Look out, I'm going to walk to the bathroom on my broken toe to wash off all this makeup and change out of this dress."

"How are your stitches?" Casey said loudly as Alex went into the small bathroom extending from the dining area.

"You act like I have hundreds. I have one stitch per incision, bringing me to a total of twenty-four stitches and they are fine. Scabby. I get them taken out first thing next week. Quit badgering me."

Casey took the two glasses of wine and sat them on the coffee table without even bothering with her cane. She winced a few times and then vanished into her bedroom to change out of her dress as well. She washed her face and put her hair up. After the ordeal in the basement, the two had quickly given up trying to maintain any pretenses, but when Casey stepped out in flannel pants and a graphic tee, she found Alex curled up with her wine on the end of the couch in a short red night gown.

Alex looked at her and said, "I can't believe you're walking around on your ankle and you were bothering me about my toe. Do you want to see my toe? It just looks bruised now and I have to keep it taped to my second toe."

"You can't wear that and talk about your toe."

She patted the couch, "Stop being prudish, sit down, drink your wine and watch CNN with me."

"Speaking of which, I think I saw Anderson Cooper at the party tonight," she crossed the room, sat down and began unwrapping her ankle to rewrap it.

"Oh, come on! Why didn't you tell me?" Alex playfully slapped her arm, but did seem genuinely disappointed.

"It was when you were talking to some really important man," she told her and looked over her still swollen and oddly colored ankle.

"Did I not introduce him to you?"

"You did, but you introduced me to, like, seventy-five people and I was only half paying attention."

"Fine," she conceded and started messing with the stitches on her leg. She'd taken the bandage off. "I'll let it slide this time."

Casey's phone rang. She picked it up and say, "What's up, Liv?" Followed by, "Are you serious? Did you try Hardwicke?"

Alex laughed and Casey said, "I can try to call Petrovsky. Do you have it prepared? Ok. Ok. Brief me. You have two minutes. No funny business. I want everything on my desk first thing Monday morning and by the books."

"Law," Alex snickered. "Right now you're feeling law."

Casey motioned for silence and then said into the phone, "Alright. Send someone. I'm not getting out of my pajamas and I just rewrapped my ankle, plus I can't drive, and-" She pulled her phone away from her ear and said, "She hung up on me."

"You were on a tangent."

"Quiet, I have to call Petrovsky and she hates you."

"She doesn't hate me."

"She likes me more than you, that's for sure."

Alex laughed again and started to tug on the elastic waistband of Casey's pants.

"This is Casey Novak. I'm sorry to call you so late, but SVU is apparently in desperate need of a warrant. Yes, Benson and Stabler. No, I don't think they realize it's after ten on a Friday night. Who knows why they're still working. They have probable cause. Have a pen ready and they'll be out of your hair." She paused periodically in the chat and told her Benson was worried the perp was going to hide the evidence. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry you're the closest judge to the precinct. I'm also sorry they called me. Have a goodnight." She hung up and tossed her phone onto the table then slapped Alex's hand.

"It sounds like you still have favors left. People like you too, you know." Alex sat down her wine and toyed more with Casey's pants.

Casey rolled her eyes, "They feel sorry for me."

"Bullshit. You're a badass." She touched her cheek with one hand began edging the fingers of her other hand down a bit lower. Then she said, "Benson and Stabler also need vacations. Maybe we could do like a double-date thing."

"You forget Elliot has a wife and thirty-seven kids."

Alex laughed slightly and moved closer to Casey, dipping her hand slowly lower.

Casey kept talking, completely ignoring her, "Hardwicke didn't answer when they tried to call her, which is why they called me. They've only been interacting with me for work during normal business hours."

"No one else can do anything right, can they?" When asked finished the question she snickered and touched Casey's clit with her thumb, just a little.

It took her a moment to respond, but she managed to say, "Never and it's why I hate taking vacations."

"What if I came back to SVU? I'd let you be Senior ADA." She repeated the motion.

"You'd let me, huh? Well...I'd get fat from biscotti and a number of other disasters would surely occur."

"I could always go back to appeals court after ICC." She began rubbing Casey's warmth very lightly.

Casey bit her bottom lip for a second before spreading her legs a bit wider and she kept talking, "We'd turn into one of those couples from a primetime workplace drama - not that I don't find entertainment value in those shows, since I watched a number of them while I was suspended."

"All of the fraternizing when I was Bureau Chief was horrible, you're right." Alex was watching her every move and stroked her cheek with her palm and then slid her finger easily inside of her.

"Motion to dismiss this conversation," Casey said quickly.

"Motion granted," Alex laughed as Casey squirmed out of her pants.

"I think you would make a hot judge," she said, slouching down farther onto the couch.

"Ha ha ha. They do get the best offices, but how about we stop trying to make long-term plans right now and we just plan on me making breakfast tomorrow?" She added a second finger.

"You can cook?" Asked Casey, taking off Alex's glasses and then bringing her in for a kiss.

"I can make mimosas." She began slowly moving her fingers in and out of her then she added, "And yes, I can also cook. I'm Alex Cabot and I'm amazing at everything."

"Mmhmm," Casey mumbled.


	42. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Casey Novak mingling with socialites and then lazily calling a judge from her apartment to get a warrant?" Elliot was collecting his things and straightening up his desk before going home after an exceptionally long day.

"Hell's freezing over," Olivia said sitting at her own desk. "She's also been leaving the DA's Office by six at the latest and hasn't been hovering over us constantly."

"She came in at nine the other morning, so I heard through the grapevine. She hasn't even been working through her lunch breaks."

"I wish I could get away with that..." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Maybe we should try taking a page from her book?"

"You know we can't."

Elliot crossed his arms, "How long are we gonna do this, Liv?"

"What're you talking about?"

"I dunno..." He changed the subject, "Can you believe the shit that they went through? Alex and Casey..."

"I don't want to think about it, El. I'm just glad they both made it out of there."

"I know, I know. Those women. God, how do they do it? I know Novak's working nearly normal hours, but she wanted to get right back to work."

"Same way we do. They hate bad people and are too stubborn to take a break." Olivia was still looking down at the papers on her desk.

"But after what they went through? I don't understand..."

"You don't understand perps and you don't understand lawyers. No one does."

Elliot's phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at it and said, "Kathy's calling." He sighed and tucked it back into his pocket. "I've been thinking about taking some personal time."

"Thinking about taking personal time and you just ignored your wife? Now that makes a lot of sense."

He grunted, "Well, I'm going home right now. I don't need to talk to her on the phone...unless you want to go around the corner for a quick drink?"

Olivia looked up. "Go home, Elliot."

"Says the woman still sitting at her desk," he put on his jacket and rolled his shoulders.

"I need to make sure we have everything ready for-"

"Do it Monday."

"Casey said-"

"I'm sure she won't be upset if you have it to her by nine."

"She has been remarkably pleasant lately."

"Because she's splitting her caseload with Hardwicke and I think she's getting a full night's sleep somehow."

"And there's Alex. Who knew Alex of all people could get Casey to chill out?"

Stabler shut down his computer and then turned out the light at his desk, "Do you know who it was that told Alex that Casey might, you know, bat for the other team?"

"I thought it was you."

"Nah, I just made that bet with you as a joke after drinks on whatever night that was. I didn't think Casey liked people at all, honestly."

"It wasn't Fin and I'm pretty sure it wasn't Munch."

Elliot laughed, "I thought Fin was going to faint when he found out. Was it maybe Huang?"

"Maybe someone in the DA's Office? Alex wouldn't even tell me who it was. You sure it wasn't you?"

He shook his head, "I'm very sure, and I guess it's going to remain a mystery."

Olivia laughed a little, "Alex and Casey."

"I know. Alex always struck me as only caring about the job and she seemed to think relationships were a waste of time. Casey...now, Casey is a piece of work. Together they seem like a recipe for disaster, but...maybe not."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think? At least they've got each other for right now...after everything. The might kill each other later, but..." She shrugged.

"You know what I meant." He looked at his watch, "Alright. Goodnight, Liv. See you bright and early on Monday, unless something comes up this weekend...again."

"Hang on," she closed the folder and filed it in one of her drawers then turned out her own desk light. "One drink and then we both do need to go home. You have a family and I have a date with a bottle of wine, my couch and some television, but before then let's have a beer and theorize who the mystery matchmaker could be."

The End

**_Note:_**_ Sorry it took me so long to get around to finishing this. I know there are some continuity errors, but what can you do when you take a year to update? I hope you all enjoyed despite said continuity errors and my likely frequent typos. I didn't even for real ship Alex and Casey until I wrote this, and now I got a new OTP, bitches. It's about time one (or both) of them rolled back into some SVU episodes. Barba is lame. Thanks for reading, pals! xoxo_


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